Becoming the Best
by Frizz.22
Summary: Sarah has always wanted to become the best trainer Sentas has ever seen, but nobody thinks it's a good idea. When she meets a strange old lady and a companion with secrets, will her dream turn out the way she intended?
1. The Flames of Friendship

_I know this chapter isn't brilliant and seems really long and stuff, but trust me, it gets better! Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy it :)_

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Becoming The Best

Prologue

In the region of Sentas; on the small island of Greensand; the village of Woodham, a young child awoke to the light cascading through her window. She was only 8 years old and still very immature for her age, but that's not to say she wasn't intelligent- quite the opposite in fact-she was the best in her year at school. The village of Woodham was small, a place where everyone knew eachother. The ground was green with grass all year round and surrounded by trees. It lay in the heart of a bounteous forest, teeming with wild Pokemon. There was a local Trainer School and an Academic School, but as much as Sarah adored Pokemon, she refused to attend the Trainer School. She believed that training Pokemon was about experience, determination and love, not sitting reading a book about what colour a Pidgey is.

On this particular day, Sarah's father was working (he was a teacher at the Trainer School and held Sarah's opinions with disdain) and her mother was in the garden tending to her garden. Sarah could smell the grass and the beautiful aromas coming from the forest. Being a child and therefore naturally curious, she wandered out of the house and into the trees. The grass felt springy and full of life as she walked over it, and the trees seemed to stand tall over her. Looking all around, she saw many Pokemon going about their business, finding food, playing; Sarah found herself smiling as she walked along, but the smell was still some way away. She kept on walking until she came to a small clearing and in the centre was a Roselia, sleeping quietly. Sarah inhaled deeply as the scent flowed through her, filling her with a sense of peace. Spellbound and wanting to know more about the creature Sarah approached the Roselia and stretched out her hand to touch it.

Roselia opened its eyes. Startled by the human, Roselia lashed out with its vines, knocking Sarah back. It closed in on her, readying its poison sting to attack her. Sarah closed her eyes tightly and brought her hand over her face, waiting in terror for the most likely fatal blow. But it ddn't come. Instead, she heard a fierce growl and opened her eyes to see a flash of orange hurl itself at the Roselia. Sarah stood up and saw that it was a Growlithe, saving her from the Roselia.

It was only young, probably not even old enough to be out alone. It soon became clear to Sarah that the Growlithe was weaker than it's grassy opponent, and was only winning due to it's super effectiveness and its fierce determination. Finally, the Roselia-realising it was going to lose-fled into the safety of the trees and the Growlithe stumbled over to Sarah. It had been badly poisoned and wasn't going to survive much longer out here. Realising that this Growlithe had just saved her life, Sarah decided to return the favour. Picking up the small dog, Sarah made her way back home as quickly as she could.

She staggered out of the forest and back into the village, clutching the Growlithe close, she could feel it's life ebbing away with each step she took, tears flowed from her eyes as she prayed it would pull through. She made for the small PokeCentre, but before she got there her mother and father came running at her; her mothers eyes were red as if she had been crying.

"Just where have you been young lady?" her father reprimanded, but he saw the weak Pokemon and gasped. He went to take it out of his daughters hands, but Sarah pulled away. She wasn't going to let anyone else touch this Growlithe before she got to the PokeCentre; she knew it wouldn't be able to hold on much longer and just wanted to make sure she got it to safety. Ignoring her parents blabbering, she ran past them and into the Centre, her face streaked with cuts from the forest and tears over the little Pokemon. Nurse Joy took one look and rushed over, taking the Growlithe out of her hands and into a room.

Sarah waited for what seemes like years for Growlithe to recover, when in actual fact it was little under an hour. Nurse Joy told her that poisons are easily treated, but if left too long can be fatal. When Nurse Joy told the good news to Sarah, a fresh bout of tears streamed down her face and she ran to the room where Growlithe was. The Pokemon turned it's head as soon as it heard Sarah and strained to lick her face.

"He really has taken a shine to you," Nurse Joy said from the door,

"He? You mean he's a boy?" Sarah asked, curiously,  
"Yes he sure is. I think he wants you to be his trainer,"

"But I'm too young to be a trainer," Sarah replied bitterly. She wanted to be a trainer more than anything, but it was customary to leave when you were 16 in Woodham.

"He could live with you until you depart on your journey though. To be honest I think he would follow you home even if you sent him back into the forest," Nurse Joy told her. Sarah looked down into Growlithes eyes,

"Well if I'm going to keep you, you're going to need a name. I'm going to call you Arcane," Sarah stroked his head and Arcane licked her face again. Nurse Joy told them it was okay for them to go home, so together they walked out to meet Sarah's parents. Sarah's father was over the moon to hear his little girl had finally shown an interest in Pokemon training, other than playing.

That night, Arcane slept in Sarah's room and lay on her bed. As they were dropping off, Sarah whispered,

"You and me Arcane, we can go all the way,"


	2. There is Power in the Weak

Becoming the Best

Chapter 2 - An Unexpected Meeting

Sarah sat at the breakfast table playing with her food, she didn't want to eat it at all, her stomach felt heavy and dull, a sense of dreariness swept over her. Today was the day. The day all the kids in the village would leave on their journey to become the best. Not Sarah though. She was only 15. Throwing down her spoon, she leaned back and sighed heavily.

"Sarah, I know you're upset but you have to understand-you're only 15, you can't go out on an adventure," her mother explained as if she were 8 years old again.

"What difference does a year make anyway? Me and Arcane could beat any of those losers with our eyes closed, yet they get to go!" Sarah argued

"A year makes a lot of difference, now go and get ready, we have a big party to prepare for," her mother ordered. Sarah stomped upstairs, Arcane on her heels, she slammed her bedroom door as loudly as she could and slumped onto her bed, Arcane hopped up with her.

"It's so unfair. I have to help with the leaving party too," she sighed. In Greensand, the docking town of Glistenport was the main gateway for tourists, food and money. There was a path leading from Woodham to Glistenport, where people come and go, free from the worry of wild Pokemon however when it was time for new trainers to start their journey, they would have to travel through the forest, testing their skills as a trainer and to prove they had what it takes. Once at Glistenport, a ship would have taken them across the glistening waters to the mainland of Sentas, to continue their journey onward.

Sarah lay on her bed pondering this, trying to come up with a plan to get her off the island of Greensand and into the wide world. She decided she would escape her mothers torturous preperations and venuture into the forest to begin her adventure with Arcane. After she revealed her plan to Arcane, he started wagging his tail happily- it was at least 7 years since the incident in the forest and the bond between Sarah and Arcane had grown immensely. Sarah had taken him into the forest numerous times to keep up his training, but he craved adventure just as much as Sarah did.  
"I knew you would agree," Sarah smiled and gave him a hug. She searched her wardrobe and found a sizeable shoulder bag, picked up a jacket incase it should get too cold and grabbed her wallet. Placing them all on her bed, she sat down and thought to herself.

_Do I really want to go through with this? I won't be able to come home in a long time. _

Then she reminded herself how her parents treated her. Her father thought her a disappointment-she was an annoying little kid to him and her mother didn't pay her much mind at all. Then she thought back to the day she met Arcane. Her mother had been crying. Surely she must have loved her.

Sarah looked at her mother, busy preparing food in the kitchen, looking perfectly composed with immaculate hair and nails, never looking out of place. Sarah was the total opposite. Her hair stuck out everywhere, always frizzy and uncontrollable; her clothes always got streaked with mud or singed with flames from playing with Arcane. She was a rock next to a diamond in her house. Always being compared to her mother and father. And her sister. Her sister left home 8 years ago, striving to become the best coordinator Sentas has ever seen. She succeeded. Sarah had been living in her sisters shadow all her life, desperate to become her own person, but always being known as 'Daisy's Sister'. Sarah snapped her mind back into the kitchen where she stood. She knew this would be hard, but she had to do it,

"Mam?" she piped up. Her mother whipped around, then smiled when she saw her daughter,

"Oh there you are, could you just give me a hand here?" her mother asked. Sarah didn't answer, instead she threw her arms around her and hugged her close,

"I love you mam," she whispered.  
"I love you too honey," her mother whispered back. Sarah pulled away and excused herself, claiming to have left something upstairs. She picked up her things from the bed, opened the window and stood for a moment, looking back at the life she was about to leave behind. Then she jumped out, landing smoothly on the grass below. Arcane followed after and together they walked off into the forest.

The forest was full of wild Pokemon, many of whom jumped out to confront Sarah, but Arcane sorted them out with his ember. After about half an hour of walking, Sarah encountered a tiny Wurmple who was being attacked by a small flock of Taillow. The Wurmple was trying its hardest to fight them off, getting up after each knock down, fighting back with it's spikes, determined not to back down. Sarah couldn't watch any longer, it was obvious the small bug Pokemon couldn't hold them off for ever but she was inspired by it's bravery.

"Arcane, help that Wurmple!" she cried, and Arcane jumped into action. Embers flared from him as he fought off the birds, biting them and growling ferociously. The flock of Taillow were just as gutsy as the Wurmple and fought back with vigour, bombarding Arcane with vicious pecks. Wurmple wasn't out of action though, it was shooting off string-shots at the Taillow, slowing them down and giving Arcane a fairer chance. In the end, the Tailow couldn't fight any longer, Arcanes flames were too intense for them to handle. After the battle, Sarah gave a cry of joy and Arcane threw his head back and let out a proud howl. The Wurmple took a look at the Pokemon and Trainer, both seemed to hold eachother in high regard, Wurmple didn't feel it would be wanted around anymore, and started to creep away without a sound. Sarah however, had different ideas. Although she had never held Bug Pokemon very highly, (in fact she never liked them at all) this Wurmple had touched her with it's determination and bravery, she was inspired by its gutsy, never give up attitude and she wanted this Pokemon on her team, regardless of wether it was a Bug or not. Holding out her hand to the Wurmple, it crawled over to her.

"Do you want to join me?" Sarah said gently. The Wurmple nodded in approval and wriggled up her arm. That's when she realised,

"Damn it! I don't have any pokeballs with me," she cursed, "Oh well, I'll have to make do. Do you mind staying on my shoulders until we get to Glistenport?" she asked Wurmple. It shook it's head. Without a pokedex either, Sarah couldn't determine it's gender and settled on naming it Wormy.

Eventually Sarah found herself at the edge of the forest, on the outskirts of Glistenport. She stared around in amazement, the ground was lined with grey slate tiles; the sky could be seen clearly without being shrouded by trees; the sea sparkled a sapphire blue, ships bobbed along the port and brightly coloured shops lined the streets. A marquee was set up along the quay side, and all the trainers who would be leaving Greensand were congregating there, ready to show off their talent and learn some new skills. Sarah felt a burst of adrenaline rush through her vains and she dashed off in the direction of the marquee, but quickly stopped herself, remembering she would have to heal her Pokemon and get some supplies from the Pokemart first.

Nurse Joy gave Sarah's Pokemon a quick check up (and revelaed that Womry was a girl) and they were healed in minutes, Sarah said her thanks and moved on to the Pokemart where she stocked up on potions and pokeballs with her money. Wormy was content to take refuge in the pokeball and Sarah proceeded to the marquee.

Upon entering, she saw many trainers, but the bulk of them hadn't even arrived yet. Officials were seated at the far end, taking down names and giving out Pokedex's. Sarah wondered if she would actually manage to pull this off. She was about to go and sign in when she remembered she was trying to do this secretively, but she also knew that a trainer _needed _a Pokedex. She sighed in frustration then heard someone call her name. Spinning around, she saw Kaleb standing there. Her eyes lit up and she ran over to him,

"Kaleb! What are you doing here?" she squealed.

"I'm 16, I'm leaving today remember?" he reminded her, laughing. Kaleb had grown up in Woodham in the house next door to Sarah; they had been friends ever since they met back when they were 3 years old. They were fast friends and Sarah was very disappointed when she realised Kaleb would have to leave a year before her. He had dark hair and was just taller than Sarah.

"I should be asking you the same question though, shouldn't you be at home?" he asked. Sarah thought for a moment: on one hand she knew she could trust Kaleb with anything; on the other she knew that he might send her home. For a minute or two, Sarah didn't speak and the silence grew until she realised she would have to say something,

"I er... Need to get something from the town," she spluttered, it being the first thing that came to mind,

"Your mam sent you all the way out here to get something? She's never purposely let you go out of the village on your own before, why would she let you go today?" Kaleb asked with raised eyebrows, he was obviously not fooled by her lie. Sarah was about to reply, but Arcane barked and ran through her legs (causing her to fall over) and over to the tables where the officials were seated. Sarah raced after him without standing up properly first, and ended up sprawled across the floor, the pokeball containing Wormy fell out of her bag and rolled over to Kaleb's feet. Sarah watched as he picked it up in his hand and stared down at her, a smug look on his face.

"I knew you were up to something," he smiled, throwing the pokeball up and down in his hand,

"Give it back Kaleb," Sarah warned, holding her hand out,

"That's not very polite," he teased,  
"Fine give it back, _please_," Sarah sighed, rolling her eyes,

"Okay, what kind of Pokemon is it anyway?" Kaleb asked, giving her the pokeball back. Feeling a blush spread across her cheek, she answered shyly,

"A Wurmple,"

"What?! I thought you _hated _bug Pokemon," the suprise in his voice was evident,

"I know, but you should have seen her Kaleb, she was getting attacked by a whole flock of Taillow, but she never gave in, even when I sent Arcane out to help, she didn't stop and rest; even though she was really injured. It was truly inspiring to see!" Sarah enthused, trying to get Kaleb to see the determination her bug Pokemon had,  
"Oh that's okay, so you're not turning into some bug maniac?"

"No, it's just Wormy," Sarah defended herself, stroking the pokeball lightly, then her head shot up,

"Where _is _Arcane?" she gasped.

Right on cue, as if he heard his name, Arcane went sprinting back to Sarah with something in his mouth. He stopped at Sarah's feet and sat down, gazing affectionately up at her, his bushy tail wagging furiously. Exchanging a nervous look with Kaleb, Sarah bent down and took the object out of Arcanes mouth. The Growlithe barked lightly, circled around then sat down again staring at his owner with a look as if to say: _Did I do good?_

Sarah gasped as she realised what it was, almost dropping it. Kaleb shot an unbelieving look at the Growlithe, who was still gazing up at Sarah.

"He just stole that for you?" Kaleb asked in awe,

"How can I be a trainer without a Pokedex though?" Sarah said aloud, trying to convince herself aswell as Kaleb that Arcane had just done a good thing,

"Sarah, listen to me," Kaleb said suddenly, his voice growing more serious. He took hold of Sarah's arms and looked at her,

"You can't go on this boat. Your mam will be worried, and you're too young," he told her,

"Kaleb, you know fine well that I could beat half of the trainers here!" Sarah replied obstinatley,

"Sarah, listen," he said, more sternly,

"NO!" Sarah yelled, flinging his arms away from her, "I'm going to do this Kaleb, you can't stop me!" and she stalked off.

After storming away, Sarah came across a collection of trainers and in the centre, two trainers were in the middle of a heated match.

"Penny, finish it off with a gust!" one trainer yelled, the Pidgey that answered the trainer flapped its wings, swirling up a gust of wind and sent it after the other Pokemon, who Sarah identified as a Zigzagoon,

"Kiki, dogde it and use tackle!" the other trainer ordered, but the Pokemon wasn't quick enough for the Pidgey and fell unconscience. The trainer with the Pidgey won. Sarah felt intrigued and fancied a battle herself, she was sure she could handle herself in a Pokemon battle, although she had never fought a trainer before. She stepped forward into the centre of the circle as the others left to heal their Pokemon,

"Anyone want to battle?" she called out, she was greeted with many earnest calls back, but one person pushed to the front of the crowd and stood in front of her. Kaleb.

"You've got to be kidding me," Sarah groaned as Kaleb stared her down,

"I'm not letting you do this Sarah. If I win, you go straight home," he told her. Sarah felt her heart drop, she had her trusty Growlithe, but she realised she had never used her Wurmple in a real battle before, and she was starting wonder how she would square up against Kaleb and his team. Kaleb's starter had been a Ghastly, so Arcane would have to take that on using his ember, but she had no idea what other Pokemon Kaleb had caught and possible trained up while in the forest. She just hoped that her Growlithe could take whatever Kaleb threw at them.

"Fine. But if I win, you let me do what I want," Sarah stuck out her chin indignantly, she was not about to give up without a fight.


	3. The First of Many

Becoming the Best 

Chapter 3

"Hotch, go!" Kaleb yelled and set loose his Gastly, it's face leering menacingly as Arcane jumped forward, growling at the spooky ghost. Sarah had seen Hotch in battle once before, and he was a formidable opponent, however she had her trusty Growlithe, surely he could beat this purple ghost. What worried her more was the thought of this mysterious second Pokemon, she could see the pokeball attached to his belt, and just hoped that Arcane would hold out long enough to beat it down at least. She was a bit sceptical about Wormys abilities, but she shook the thought out of her head to focus on the battle at hand.

"Hotch, use Hypnosis!" Kaleb yelled, and the Gastly started to stare intently at Arcane, lulling it to sleep. _I can't let this happen! _

"Arcane! Don't stare at his eyes, use bite!" Sarah shouted frantically. She knew that if her pokemon fell asleep then she would most definately lose, she also knew that the dark move bite would be super effective against the ghost. Hotch let out a shrill cry as Arcane's jaws closed around his gaseous body, injuring him greatly,

"Hotch, don't give up yet, use lick!" Kaleb yelled, and a great, repulisve tongue protuded from the Gastleys mouth and licked Arcane, causing him to shiver and become rooted to the spot. Arcane was paralyzed.

"Arcane! Try and use another bite!" Sarah cried, and the small Growlithe used all of his power to stand and stare down the Gastley, but couldn't move forward to use bite.

"We've got him now Hotch-use lick again!" Kaleb yelled, sure he was going to win.

_I won't let him win so easily._

"Arcane, you have his smell right?" Sarah said quickly, the Gastly was moving slowly, taunting Arcane before he attacked. The Growlithe struggled to nod his head, but Sarah noticed when he did,

"Well close your eyes Arcane. Concentrate on his scent alone, then strike," Sarah said quickly and quietly to her Growlithe. The fiery canine looked confused, but decided to trust his master and did as he was asked.

"Your Growlithe knows he's going to lose Sarah! You may aswell start walking now," Kaleb teased, confident in his ability to win. Sarah just smiled and continued watching the battle. Just as the Gastly reached out his tongue, Arcane snapped his jaw open and in one suprisingly quick movement, clamped them shut on the big pink tongue. The Gastly let out another, albeit strangled sounding shriek and collapsed on the floor, beaten. Sarah shot a wry smile at Kaleb as he returned Hotch with a suprised look on his face.

"I have to say, I underestimated you Sarah, even though I've seen you battle wild pokemon, I didn't think you would hold up so well. I'm pretty sure you won't be able to beat my next pokemon though," he remarked, grabbing his remaining pokeball from his belt.

Sarah felt her stomach drop as the pokemon emerged from the pokeball in a flash of red light. She would definately lose now.

"Meet Polo," Kaleb smirked, as a small Poliwag danced about the floor, making little squeaky noises. Sarah sighed and looked at Arcane. He was still half paralyzed and was finding it hard to move, that combined with the water type pokemon he would be opposing was sure to be a bad combination.

"Arcane, c'mon. You did a good job. You can rest now," Sarah told her Growlithe gently as he sauntered out of the designated battle ground, proud of winning his first trainer battle.

However, before Sarah could not feel anything other than dread, she had to get through this next battle. Against a Poliwag. Something inside her knew she wouldn't be celebrating anytime soon. As she took the pokeball containing Wormy in her hand, she felt a power emanate from it, and she had a flashback to the scene upon which she had walked in on-the Wurmple fearlessy defending herself from the relentless onslaught of the Tailow-and something inside of her was awoken.

_What am I thinking? I'm giving up on my Pokemon before I've even started. We can do this, even if we don't win at least I can find solace knowing we did our best!_

She strengthened her resolve and kissed the pokeball lightly before throwing it forth with a cry of determination.

The small Wurmple looked upon it's opponent with an intrigued look on her face. She had seen Poliwag plodding about near the ponds in the forest before, but had never seen a one in battle, they generally kept to themselves and avoided confrontation. Wormy however, refused to underestimate any opponent, regardless of species. She bowed slightly to Polo and readied herself for a tough battle.

"Level the playing field a bit with string shot Wormy!" Sarah ordered, knowing that her Wurmple was a great deal slower than the Poliwag. At the same time, Polo blew some small bubbles towards Wormy, but much to the delight of Sarah, the string shot flew through them and hit Polo with a sticky splat, constricting his movement, which made him slower.

"Now tackle him!" Sarah yelled, and Wormy charged as fast as she should to Polo,

"Use Bubble!" Kaleb shouted to Polo, who replied with a stream of bubbles that hurt Wormy and succeeded in reducing the impact of the tackle attack. Wormy was standing her ground, but was obviously going to have a hard time if she wanted to defeat Polo.

_If only I had thought to train her up a bit more before I got here, she could at least have a poison attack by now_

"Wormy, try another tackle!" Sarah yelled, not knowing what else to do.

"Polo, stop it in its tracks with hypnosis!" Kaleb called.

_Not that damn move again!_

Since Wormy was slower than Arcane, she couldn't avoid the hypnotising move in time, and was lulled into a sleep.

"Wormy! Wormy wake up!" Sarah called, trying to wake Wormy up before she got knocked unconscience. It was no use though, Polo let a constant stream of bubbles bombard the helpless Wurmple as it lay in a deep sleep.

"Looks like Wormy can't battle Sarah," Kaleb said to Sarah, but he didn't feel particuarly pleased with his victory, he only wanted Sarah to go home, where she would be safe.

"Fine!" Sarah cried, about to walk away, but she heard a stubborn bark come from her little orange friend.

"Arcane, I can't seriously let you do this," Sarah told him, she didn't want to be totally beaten on her first trainer battle, at least if she left now she could walk away with at least some shred of self respect. Arcane had a different idea. He stared up at her, with longing in his eyes.

_He really wants to do this._

"Look Kaleb, Arcane is still able to battle, so you haven't quite won yet," she sighed, rubbing the back of her neck,

"Sarah he won't make it," Kaleb tried to reason with her, but Arcane growled at him, trying to show that he wanted to do this. Kaleb too gave in to the Growlithes wishes and agreed to continue the battle.

"At least use a paralyze heal or something on him, it wouldn't feel right battling the little guy when he's like that," Kaleb told her, he already felt bad for battling his best friend, but using a water pokemon against Arcane in that state? He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he did.

"I.. I don't have any," Sarah said, embarrassed. How could she have forgotten something so crucial? Maybe everyone was right, and she should just wait, but a nudge from Arcane told her different. He nodded his head at her, reassuring her that he could do this.

"Well use this one," Kaleb said, and threw her a spray bottle full of liquid. Sarah caught it and sprayed it on her Growlithe, who immediately jumped forward and growled at the small Poliwag in front of him.

"Looks like we're ready to battle," Sarah smiled.


	4. Ups and Downs

Becoming the Best

Chapter 4

Sarah weighed up the odds. On one hand, Arcane's stats were sure to be higher that Polo's, but that bubble move could do serious damage to her fire pokemon. She glanced down at her Growlithe, who was in an aggressive stance, ready for battle, then over at the Poliwag, who was plodding around in circles, fascinated with his own tail. Maybe this was possible after all.

"Okay, let's go," Kaleb stated, and the battle begun,

"Arcane, use bite!" Sarah yelled, at the same time that Kaleb yelled,

"Polo, use bubble!" the orange dog ran at the small Poliwag and opened its jaws once again to use its bite attack, but Arcane was caught off gaurd as bubbles poured out of Polo's mouth and hit him square in the face. Arcane yelped and jumped back-the wetness didn't feel at all comfotable and was smarting alot more than the other attacks did. He shook his fur and tried to regain his posture, when he heard his trainer call out in a distressed tone. Snapping his head towards Polo again, he saw another wave of bubbles heading towards him at an alarming speed. Being still somewhat young, Arcanes reactions weren't fast enough and again, he felt the full force of the watery bubbles. The horrible wetness combined with the startling popping noises bewildered the Growlithe and he whined in confusion, waiting for orders from his trainer because he didn't know what to do.

"Arcane, Arcane it's okay, just calm down! Just keep a steady ember until you feel ready to battle again!" Sarah reassured her loyal pokemon, using some logic she learned from the academic school. Kaleb gave her a confused look, wondering why she told the Growlithe to keep up the flame, but Sarah knew it would work. While Arcane was holding an ember and regaining his composure, Kaleb ordered Polo to use another bubble, but this time it didn't reach Arcane-the ember evaporated the weak bubbles before they could harm him.

"Great job Arcane! Now keep up the ember and charge at him," Sarah called, feeling sure this would work. Meanwhile, Kaleb told Polo to stay still until he gave the command, then to move swiftly out of the way.

"Use bite!" Sarah cried just as Arcane was about to crash into Polo, and Kaleb shouted out to his Poliwag, who simply took a step to the side, avoiding the attack. Arcane swivelled around, panting. The battle was really starting to take its toll on him, but he wasn't going to let his trainer down. He got ready to pounce, but Poliwag shot another bout of bubbles and weakened Arcane even further.

Sarah couldn't bear to watch-it was obvious that Arcane wasn't going to win this one-Polo just had too much of an advantage. After watching her failed attempt to combine bite and ember, Sarah saw that Arcane had taken a beating with all the water moves. One more and he was finished. Polo was still relatively healthy and could survive a few more attacks. It wasn't worth the risk in Sarah's opinion.

"Okay Kaleb stop it!" she cried, just as Polo was about to finish it off,

"You proved your point!" she went on, running over to Arcane and kneeling down next to him. He reached up and licked her face-grateful to not have to endure a painful defeat.

"Sarah," Kaleb started to say, but Sarah cut him off,

"I don't care, you got what you wanted. I'm going," she spoke sharply, annoyed at him for crushing her dreams. He knew how much she hated being stuck at home; how much she really wanted to be out in the big world-facing all the hardships that her mother had tried to protect her from-and now he had just taken that all away from her. Not to mention he had hurt Arcane and Wormy. She stormed off to the Pokecenter to get her pokemon healed and then went back out into the city, not knowing what to do with herself. The only thing she _did _know was that she was _not _going home.

"I guess it would be a good idea to go and train Wormy up," Sarah decided to herself, then walked off to the forest. At first she got frustrated, to put it simply: Wormy was weak. She had to keep switching between her and Arcane to let her gain experience safely, but Sarah refused to give up on her. Instead she continued on with patience, until something magical happened. Wormy evolved.

"Wormy! You.. You aren't a Wurmple anymore!" Sarah squealed in excitement and hugged her new Silcoon in delight. Arcane jumped around, howling congratulations at Wormy with heart. The first instinct that came to Sarah was to run over to Kaleb and tell him. Then she remembered that then he would realise she didn't go home. And that would probably make him angry. Making him angry was certainly not what Sarah wanted to do, in fact she wanted to travel with him, make new friends, find new places, big cities, big mountains big oceans, all with her best friend. But that wasn't allowed to happen.

_I'll just do it by myself._

After a few hours of levelling her pokemon up, Sarah encountered a Pidgey. She didn't know why, but she always had a soft spot for Pidgey, and she wanted to catch this one.

"Go Wormy," she said and released Silcoon. The battle that ensued was not particuarly spectacular or interesting in any way whatsoever, but the outcome was a newly caught Pidgey, and this meant the world to Sarah. Checking it with her Pokedex, she found that this Pidgey was female and thus named her Air. Taking Arcane, Air and Wormy back to the Pokecenter, she healed them up then walked back out into the sunshine. She knew the sensible thing to do would be to train her Pidgey, then she realised that all of her spare time would now be taken up training her pokemon, but that didn't bother her. As she strolled along to the forest, another thought hit her. She turned around and decided to search what was on the opposite outskirts. Maybe she could train up Air faster over there. While she was walking however, she heard three familiar voices. Voices that sent chills down her spine.

Ducking into an alleyway, Sarah watched as her mother and father walked past, speaking frantically to a bewildered looking Kaleb.

_I guess he knows I'm not at home now._

They were talking about her and how she had just disappeared without warning, then her mother revealed the strange flair of emotion her daughter had shown her earlier that day and how she wished she had realised what it meant. Sarah sighed and knew that what she was doing was killing her parents, but she wanted to do it all the same. After they walked past, she ran as fast as she could in the opposite direction of the forest, away from her parents, away from Kaleb and away from the place she had lived her whole life. The last thing she did was set the alarm on her watch so she didn't miss the leaving ferry.


	5. A Close Call

Becoming the Best

Chapter 5

_I'll show them, I'll beat the champion one day, and then they'll see._

Sarah's thought track was pretty much the same all the way across town-thoughts about becoming the best and showing everyone what she was capable of doing-possible even out-shining her sister one day. As she was walking, she didn't realise the town was coming to an end until she stood on the very outskirts. She stopped abrubptly and gasped, staring out at the fields upon fields of lush green grass swaying in the wind.

"Wow," she said, Sarah had never seen anything so open, she was used to the close knitted trees of the forest. She started to walk forward until she smelt something. It was familiar, but she knew it had been a long time since she had smelt it, and then she remembered.

"It's a Roselia! Air can handle this, surely!" she exclaimed, happy that she could finally defeat a one with no problem. Ever since that day in the forest when she met Arcane, she had had a personal grudge against Roselia, regardless of wether they are wild or trained. Whenever she sees a one, she feels something inside of her that makes her want to defeat it, to prove to herself that she can.

"Air, use sand attack!" she ordered, and Air scratched at the ground, sending dirt flying into the Roelia's eyes, so it couldn't see,

"Great job! Now use tackle!" the Pidgey flung itself at the Roselia and knocked it to the ground. It got back up and glared at Air, angry at being disturbed. It readied it's poison barb and went to attack Air, who quickly dodged and used another tackle, and knocked it to the ground again. It was defeated, and Air started to flap her wings in excitement, which whipped up a gust of wind.

"Air! You learned gust!" Sarah cried and hugged her Pidgey. Then she heard a noise. She turned to see what was there, when she saw it her eyes widened, and she muttered,

"Uh oh,"

A Roserade stepped out in front of Sarah and screamed angrily at her, then raised its paw, about to strike her for hurting its young. Sarah was frozen, why did these kind of pokemon have a habit of trying to kill her? Once again though, Arcane came to her rescue, charging at it and knocking it back, and Air also helped with a strong gust of wind. The Roserade made another noise, and another one appeared on the scene, bigger and scarier than the last.

_Looks like this just turned into a tag team!_

"Arcane, Air, focus on taking out the smaller one first!" Sarah yelled, wondering what she had gotten herself into, "Use ember and gust!" she continued, and the pair aimed their attacks well, striking the Roserade, however the other one was not inactive, it started a delicate dance that started to rustle the petals lying on the ground nearby. Sarah recognised this move, having seen it on the tv one day and knew that it would do alot of damage to her pokemon, but as her other two were busy attacking, the only thing she could think of doing was to send out Wormy,

"Wormy, quick! Use poison sting on that Roserade!" Sarah yelled, and Wormy rolled into action, throwing herself at the grass pokemon and digging her poisonous spikes into it, stopping it from carrying out the attack. Sarah blew a sigh of relief, but then realised that the pokemon turned it's rage upon the Silcoon.

"No, no, no. How the heck did this happen?" Sarah gabbled to herself, absolutely terrified,

"Air, help Wormy out a bit!" she called, knowing that Arcane would hold up better on his own. She saw that the smaller Roserade was weakened after the beating Arcane and Air had given it.

"Finish it off with another ember!" Sarah called and the Roserade fell to the floor, unconscience. She turned her attention to the others, to see they were holding their ground, but the enemy was also still going strong,

"Arcane, help them out, use another ember!" Arcane ran at the large Roserade with fire flaring out of his mouth, but the grassy opponent swept Arcane clean out of the way with a poisonous swipe. Arcane yelped and rolled across the grass, while Air attacked with gust again. The wold pokemon let out another scream as it hit the floor, dazed with fatigue, so Sarah ordered Arcane to finish it off with ember. The Roserade fell back and lay still. Defeated.

Wormy turned to Sarah, thankful that the battle was over. She could feel a familiar feeling wash through her, and she started to grow; she felt wings sprout from her sides and her mouth elongated into a proboscus. Sarah gasped at the beautiful creature in front of her, her newly evolved Beautifly.

"Wormy, it's so weird, just this morning you were a tiny little Wurmple!" Sarah exclaimed in excitement, but it was shortlived as she saw her Growlith limp over to her, holding up his paw. As she bent down to see what was wrong, she realised with dread that he was poisoned again.

"No, not again!" she cried. WIthdrawing Air and Wormy, Sarah scooped Arcane up in her arms and ran towards the Pokecentre, she would make sure Arcane made it safely. The doors of the Pokecentre flew open as Sarah ran through, and Nurse Joy compliently restored her pokemon to full health. Arcane jumped down from the healing machine and barked happily. Sarah laughed and petted him, then stood up to leave. Then she saw her parents.

_What the heck can I do now?_

* * *

Sorry for the short chapter, but I think it suits the story better ending there, otherwise it may have been really long. Hope you enjoyed reading it though :)


	6. Back to Square One

Sorry it took so long to upload this chapter, I've been busy with exams and stuff. Hope you like it :)

* * *

Becoming the Best

Chapter 6

"Arcane, we have a problem," Sarah whispered to her Growlithe, and he looked to see what she was talking about. He saw her parents near the doors of the center, asking everyone if they had seen Sarah. It was only a matter of time before they realised that she was standing right there. Arcane whined pitifully, he knew this meant that their adventure might have to be cut short-and he was just beginning to enjoy it.

"We have to do something," Sarah muttered, then she realised that standing in front of the main desk where everyone could see her would be a bad idea, so she slunk off to a corner where no one was, out of view from her parents. She was stuck. A dull pain sat in the pit of her stomach, she knew that this could be it, that she would have to go home and probably never be allowed out of her parents sight again. Sarah pondered over that thought for a few moments and before long she realised that she didn't want that at all. So she thought of a plan that might or might not work, but she thought it was worth the risk. Making her mind up that she would just run away again if she got caught, Sarah stood up and peered around the corner to see what her parents were doing now. They were still talking to people, so she snook closer,

"Okay Arcane, go distract them, then when you've seen me go, wait about a minute until you follow. But _don't _let them follow you, be as fast as you can. Okay?" Sarah told Arcane. He nodded with understanding and Sarah prayed that this would work. Arcane ran over to Sarah's parents, barking like a possessed hound and while they were getting all excited to see Arcane, she ran for the exit.

Gasping for air and leaning up against a wall for support, Sarah wondered how much she would have to run around as a Pokemon Trainer. That was one thing she had never been very good at, or that she particuarly liked.

_How can Arcane run without getting tired?_ She thought to herself, which lead her to wondering how on earth Arcane would find her. Fair enough he had an excellent sense of smell, but she had run to the other side of town and she didn't know how powerful his nose was. In the end she decided to send Air out to fly around and look for Arcane, then the Pidgey could show him where Sarah was. Hopefully it would work. Throwing the pokeball high into the air, Air burst out of it with a cry of joy. Sarah explained the plan and the bird flew off, happy to have some time out of the pokeball.

_Well, if the others are out, then I may aswell let Wormy out._

So with a flick of the wrist, Wormy was flitting her wings to float in front of Sarah. She seemed fascinated with her surroundings and fluttered here and there, inspecting the small street with intrigue.

"So I see your Wurmple evolved," Sarah spun around to see who had spoken and Wormy instinctively flew to Sarah's side in case her trainer was in any danger.

"Oh it's you," Sarah said flatly, but relaxed when she saw it was her old friend and not a crazy person bent on murdering her,

"I thought you said you would go home," Kaleb raised his eyebrow at Sarah, he wasn't impressed by her little stunt.

"I decided not to," Sarah replied defiantly, whatever happened she was refusing to go home.

"Hang on, where's Arcane?" Kaleb asked, looking around for the little orange dog. As if on cue, Arcane came hurtling around the corner and crashed into Sarah's feet, making her fall over again and she heard Air call out above her. Kaleb held out his hand to help her up, but she stayed where she was for a minute, thinking about wether she should let him. After all, he did try to make her go home, but he wasn't exactly angry at her now. Figuring it would just be easiest, she let him help her up and dusted herself off.

"Is that Pidgey yours?" Kaleb asked, looking slightly suprised,

"Yes, she's called Air," Sarah said proudly, she was really pleased with her team.

"And this is the same Wormy that I battled earlier?" he turned and looked at the Beautifly, who was glaring at him, she didn't like this person.

"Yep. See, I told you I could be a good trainer,"

"You do realise that you're just going to have to keep them as pets?" Kaleb said, the words shot through Sarah like bullets,

"What do you mean?"

"You're going home," he replied, then took her arm and started dragging her out of the street,

"No! I am _not_!" Sarah yelled and tried to release herself from his grip, but he was too strong.

"Sarah, it's too dangerous!" Kaleb stopped and looked at her.

"I honestly don't care!" Sarah shouted,

"Well I do and I'm not letting you go," he replied and continued dragging her.

Seeing her trainer getting dragged away by a strange boy, Air flew down and pecked his head fiercely, then screeched in his ear. He instantly let go of Sarah's arm,

"What the heck! Get your Pokemon off me!" he cried,

"That's what you get for trying to kidnap me!" Sarah stuck her tongue out childishly,

"I wasn't trying to kidnap you,"

"Whatever. Air, come here," Sarah sighed, and the Pidgey flew over and landed on Sarah's shoulder. Kaleb turned around to glare at his friend,

"I don't want to see you dead," he snapped,

"What, so I should just stay back in Woodham for the rest of my life, bored and alone?"

"Look, I'm not having this argument," Kaleb sighed,

"I know you're worried, but c'mon, what's the worst that could happen?"

"You could die,"

"So could you," Sarah said indignantly,

"That's different,"

"How!" Sarah cried. It was an injustice! How did one year make such a big difference?

"Because you're only fifteen!" Kaleb raised his voice, making Sarah that much more stubborn,

"Exactly! Fifteen! I'm not a kid anymore!" Sarah shouted, hating the fact that she was arguing with her best friend but she couldn't help it. She was not going back home. Kaleb sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"I don't want you to get hurt," he said,

"I know, but trust me on this one. I mean, I don't want anything to happen to you either, but I'm not telling you not to go," Sarah said, her voice back on a calmer level. Kalbe just looked at her and pulled her into a hug.

"Okay, I won't make you go back home," he sighed. Sarah stood back and jumped up in excitement,

"Yes! You are the best!" she shrieked with overwhemling happiness.

"But I'm not letting you get on the boat," he smirked. Sarah stopped in her tracks.

"What?" she spat,  
"You heard me," he said, then walked off.

"You're a big, fat, stupid dickhead!" Sarah yelled after him, and threw a stone, but it didn't land any where near him. She kicked at the ground then sat down in a huff. When Kaleb made up his mind about something, he could be just as stubborn as Sarah, and she knew she wouldn't be getting on that boat anytime soon.

A sigh escaped Sarah's lips as she sat on the ground, beaten. She had never felt this low and her Pokemon could sense this. Air sat solemnly on her shoulder, resting her head on Sarahs, Wormy simple sat next to her, but Arcane was different. He was ready for action and hated the cloud that had fallen over his group. He nudged sarah's leg with his head and when she didn't move he barked at her, determined to get her spark back. When nothing seemed to work, the Growithe started to get annoyed. His trainer wasn't like this, she was bright and happy and above all, she never gave up. He didn't recognise this grumpy child sitting on the ground with no hope. Not knowing what else to do, he sent an ember in his trainers direction. Sarah jumped up with the pain, frightening Air into the sky squawking and Wormy made an annoyed noise to the little dog.

"Arcane, what the hell?" Sarah sighed, to which he growled and barked in the direction of the ship,  
"We can't get on the boat, Kaleb's a big fat meanie," Arcane growled angrily and his fur bristled, his owner was really grinding on him now. A horn sounded and Sarah's watch started beeping. Something inside her clicked and she realised she had to pull it together.

"Air, Wormy, return," she returned the two pokemon then sprinted down to the docks, where many trainers were boarding the huge ship. With a deep intake of breath, Sarah steeled herself and walked forward, her chin up high. She walked passed the two guards with no problem, they were just there to stop trouble apparently, they weren't checking to see if anyone who shouldn't be there was sneaking on. Smiling to herself, she sauntered onto the boat, when someone grabbed her,

"I told you not to get on this boat," kaleb said angrily,

"Sorry," Sarah said, hanging her head. She felt a bit guilty for going behind her best friends back,  
"Either you get off this boat or I tell your mam and dad to take you back home right now," he said sternly and Sarah knew she wouldn't get out of this one. With a sigh, she walked off the boat and turned to wave goodbye to Kaleb. She had to admit that she was going to miss him a hell of a lot. Arcane whined as the boat left and their hopes floated away on the sea.


	7. Drifting Away

Becoming the Best

Chapter 7

"Looks like we're going to have to figure something out," Sarah sighed. She knew there was the whole island of Greensand, but other than the forest around Woodham, the pokemon on this island were really tough, as she learnt from her previous encounter. She knew that the only way to continue her journey was to traverse the sea. But she couldn't now. She felt despair creep ever closer until a heavy stone formed in her throat. Unabled to stop them, tears spilled down her cheeks and she started sobbing. She didn't know exactly why she was crying, it was a mixture of losing her very best friend and also having her dreams crushed. She couldn't believe she had been so close only to have it snatched away. Then she thought of Kaleb, she was going to miss him horribly and it was possible that she wouldn't ever see him again. Although it was only a tiny chance, Sarah found that to terrible to take and sat down on the floor hugging Arcane and sobbing.

"Dear child, I know you are upset but you mustn't fret over something so easily fixed," a rough voice said. sarah looked up, her eyes red and puffy, to see a little old lady, her face wrinkled and weathered from years of travel, a walking stick in her hand, used to prop herself up.

"All is not lost, I can help you," she continued. Arcane moved forward cautiously, could they trust this woman? He sniffed her and couldn't smell anything odd, but there was still something strange about her.

"What do you mean by help?" Sarah asked, she was not a one who trusted easily, but if this woman could get her off theisland then she was willing to accept her help.

"I have a pokemon I can lend you, he is very powerful and very loyal. He can ferry you across the water with ease," the old lady explained. Sarah shot a worried glance at Arcane. Should they accept this lady's help?

"Child, you have no other way. Come with me," and with that the old lady grabbed her arm and started dragging her down to the water.

"Hey, stop!" Sarah cried, Arcane was about to use amber, but a huge pokemon rose out of the water, halting the fire pokemon. He wouldn't stand a chance against this thing.

"There, my Lapras will transport you where you have to be," the old lady said and literally pushed Sarah onto the back of the large blue pokemon. Arcane jumped after her and the Lapras started swimming. Sarah looked around in bewilderment, then back at the shore. The old woman had gone.

The Lapras swam swiftly and calmly out to sea and Sarah started to panic. She was now too far out to jump into the water and swim, plus Arcane wouldn't fair well in the water. She looked out at the ship and the realised they were going the wrong way.

"Um... Lapras?" Sarah stuttered, she was a bit scared of the Lapras, but it turned its head to look at her,

"I thought you were going to follow that ship," she said in a small voice, hoping not to offend the creature. It snorted in reply and threw its head forward again, ignoring Sarah.

_Great. Not only have I missed my chance to get on the ship, now I'm riding a big powerful pokemon who belongs to a strange lady I don't know and it's taking me god knows where!_

Sarah sighed and sat back against one of the spikes on Lapras' shell. There really was nothing she could do now but sit back with Arcane sitting in her lap and wait.

Eventually a small island appeared in the distance and the Lapras made straight for it. Sarah sat up as straight as she could to see what kind of island it was. From what she could see, large hills rose up from the beach, and she couldn't see anything beyond them. The Lapras arrived on the sandy beach and somehow threw them off its back. Picking herself up, Sarah turned to beg the Lapras to take her back, but it had already disappeared.

"That is just strange," Sarah said to herself then turned inland to look around at the landscape. It was exactly how she saw it before, with big grassy hills looming over them  
"Well Arcane, it looks like we're going to have to climb up a hill," she sighed and walked towards it. She couldn't see anything else to do and didn't see the point in sitting on the beach waiting for someone to turn up. On the way, she hadn't seen any boats or swimmers around, it was a very secluded island. After half an hour of walking up the hill, she came to the top and looked around. She was staring into a deep valley and noticed that if she had have kept walking around instead of up, she wouldn't have had to climb any hills. At the bottom of the valley was a small village and lots of pokemon. Excited to actually see some civilisation, Sarah started to run forward, but she tripped and ended up falling all the way down the steep valley side.

Sarah lay at the bottom of the valley, everything was in pain and she felt like she couldn't move. She felt a paw on her head and turned it with great difficulty and pain, to see Arcane standing next to her. She smiled weakly and tried to move, but a pain shot through her wrist when she tried to push herself up.

"You know, I think Kaleb was right-I'm going to end up killing myself," she laughed, trying to lighten the mood, but it only made her cough violently and her stomach screamed in pain. Arcane whined and licked her face, he hated seeing his master hurt and he knew this could be serious, he had to go and get some help, but if he left her there then something even worse could happen. He decided to rummage around in Sarah's bag and he found the pokeballs, then released the pokemon inside. Seeing the state that their master was in, they both started panicking until Arcane barked loudly.

"Air, please go get help," Sarah murmured, and the Pidgey flew off to the small village. While Air was off getting help, Sarah managed to pull herself up into a sitting position and cradled her injured arm. Wormy looked around, curious about the place. She absent mindedly started fluttering away until Arcane growled at her. She rolled her eyes and came back over to sit with them.

Soon enough, Air came flapping over, followed by a girl who was running as fast as she could, followed by a fiery canine-like pokemon. She looked about 19 years old, with curly black hair and a straw hat placed at a jaunty angle.  
"Oh no, are you okay?" the girl asked concerned,

"It hurts when I move," Sarah whined,

"Well I'm not suprised! Falling all the way from up there! Flare, go get Figgy," the girl said to her pokemon and it ran off,

"Anyway, I'm Bronte, nice to meet you," the girl smiled,

"I'm Sarah, nice to meet you too,"  
"Wow, is this your pokemon?" she cooed, fussing over Arcane,

"Yeah, I've had him since I was eight," Sarah said absently, she wasn't really listening, she was more concerned by the agonising pain she was in.

"Eight? That's cool. I've had Flare, my Flareon since I was ten," Bronte kept talking, but Sarah was too busy inspecting her legs, they were stinging alot. She rolled up her jean leg and gasped. There was a huge gash down her shin and blood was oozing out.

"Kaleb would have a fit if he saw me like this," she laughed to herself,

"Who's Kaleb?" Bronte asked, her head shot up and she stared at Sarah, she loved any kind of gossip,

"He's a friend," Sarah answered hesitantly, not keen on divulging her life to this girl she had just met. She seemed really nice, but Sarah didn't know her well enough,

"A friend eh?" Bronte said suggestively,

"What are you insinuating?" Sarah asked defensively. She had never really thought of Kaleb in that way, and she didn't want this randomer to be making asumptions about her life,

"Nothing," Bronte sighed, rolling her eyes, "Anyway, is that your Beautifly?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I would sure love a Beautifly like that. Did you find it on this island?"

"No, I got it back in Woodham Forest," Sarah said,

"Oh, dang it! You can't get Beautifly around here. I might have to do some travelling one day," Bronte replied joyfully. She seemed happy to have someone to talk to and turned to see a Girafarig galloping over, closely followed by Flare.

"Figgy!" Bronte exclaimed excitedly, then turned back to Sarah, "This is Figgy, my Girafarig, I'll take you back to the park with him, your Growlithe will have to follow with Flare, so will your other pokemon," Bronte explained,

"Hang on, wait!" Sarah protested, but Bronte hoisted her up onto the Girafarig then climbed up herself. Bronte held onto Sarah so she wouldn't fall off and with a shout to Figgy, they were off. For the second time that day, Sarah found herself riding a strange and possible dangerous pokemon to an unknown place and being totally helpless about it. Her journey hadn't started off quite how she had planned.


	8. Information is not Knowledge

Becoming the Best

Chapter 8

Arriving at the small village, Bronte pulled Sarah off the Girafarig and helped her to a little house. Inside there were many shelves lined with natural remendies and salves, and a small counter.

"This is where we heal our pokemon, we use natural cures derived from plants, berries, nuts... Well just from whatever we find around this island," Bronte said brightly,  
"Grandma, I have someone here who needs help!" she called and the beaded curtain behind the counter rustled and a bent figure appeared.

"You're that old woman!" Sarah exclaimed in suprise. The old woman who had forced her onto that Lapras and sent her there was standing in front of her,

"I have heard politer greetings, but yes, I am the one who brought you here. I was not expecting you to be so careless as to fall down a perilous valley mind," the lady cackled,

"You've met my grandma?" Bronte piped up in astonishment,

"Yeah, she forced me on to a Lapras that brought me here," Sarah stated in an annoyed tone, she wanted to know who these people were, where she was and why she was there,

"You let someone ride Pringle?" Bronte cried in an outburst,

"You children, why must you raise your voices so?" the old lady grumbled,

"I am sorry grandma, but Pringle is so special to you, why did you let this stranger ride her?"

"Let me explain all later, this girl needs some medical aid,"

So Sarah was led to the back of the shop, where she found out her wrist was only sprained, so the lady put a bandage on it, made out of natural plants apparently, and her leg was bandaged up to stem the bleeding. She was then given some herbs that she was told would help stop the pain. While all of this was going on, Sarah was sitting, staring around in bewilderment. This was all too much for her and she couldn't be bothered to protest against being bandaged and drugged up. She had had a long day, she wondered what time it was, so she checked her watch, 6:00pm. It wasn't very late at all but she felt a yawn escape her mouth.

"Child, you need rest," the lady told her,

"You can sleep at my house!" Bronte enthused and Sarah nodded in agreement, knowing there wasn't really any other choice, but then a thought struck her,

"What about my pokemon! Where are they?" she panicked and started to stand up but the old lady pushed her back down,

"They are fine my child, this valley is home to a very large pokemon park, dedicated to the welfare and breeding of pokemon. Your pokemon are fine, they will have plenty of company with Bronte's pokemon and they will make sure your friends are fed and rested," the old lady calmed her down and Sarah sat back, relieved.

"I'm just so tired," she mumbled,  
"Okay, let's get you to my house, you can sleep in the spare bed," Bronte said and led Sarah outside and to her house. As soon as she was out the door however, a worried Arcane flung himself at her, knocking her over and licking her face,

"Hi Arcane," Sarah said weakly,

"Excuse me, Arcane? Yes well you shouldn't knock your trainer over like that, she isn't very well and she is very tired, I'm taking her to my house now, you will stay outside and stay with my pokemon for the night," Bronte explained gently to Arcane, but she was answered with a furious growl,

"He has to sleep with me Bronte, he always has,"  
"Well... Okay, but what will your other pokemon think?" Bronte asked, concerned,

"What do you mean?" Sarah answered,

"If they have to sleep outside and your Growlithe gets to sleep indoors with you?"

"Oh god, I never thought of that," Sarah said, she didn't want her other pokemon to feel left out or neglected, but she Arcane had slept on her bed every night for seven years. It would be strange not to have him curled up next to her. She glanced at her other pokemon, Wormy was wandering about, exploring the place-she seemed to like it alot, and Air was simply sitting atop a fence, looking straight at Sarah. She sighed, she couldn't have them think they weren't loved. She bent down so she was looking at Arcane,

"Look. You know that things will have to change now don't you?" she said gently, to which Arcane nodded slightly,

"Well you'll have to sleep outside today," she sighed. Arcane barked indignantly but Sarah refused to let him inside, much to Arcane's displeasure. With a guilty conscience, an aching wrist and a stinging leg, Sarah borrowed a pair of pajamas off Bronte (they were somewhat too big for her, but were better than nothing) and curled up on the bed. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she fell straight to sleep.

The light streamed in through the window when Sarah awoke, her eyelids felt heavy and she struggled to sit up. She still felt a little groggy from her long sleep, but she heaved herself up and stretched, then went outside. A familiar orange blur flung itself at her and she fell to the floor, laughing. The air smelt earthy and fresh, the sun was beating down and there was a slight breeze. Sarah stood up after fussing over Arcane then walked aout, looking around. The green fields were showered with bright flowers and there were many pokemon inside large wooden fences. It reminded Sarah vaguely of a ranch she saw once on tv. She heard a calling up ahead and craned her neck to see Air circling in the sky above her, crowing affectionately at her then diving down to land on her shoulder. Sarah smiled, she really was proud of her team, but she wondered where Wormy was. With her two faithful pokemon by her side, Sarah wandered around to find Wormy. She walked past a herd of big muscly Tauros, then a herd of elegant Stantlers, standing tall and proud. As she walked, she realised how many different pokemon were bred and raised here, there was a vast river running through the bottom of the valley, so water pokemon were perfectly happy too. There were a colony of Poliwag and Sarah was harshly reminded of Kaleb. She turned away sharply, she didn't want to be reminded of anything like that, this valley made her feel calm and happy and she didn't want to be brought down by something as small as a Poliwag. She kept on walking and stopped when she came to a pen smaller than the others, shaded by trees with a small pond in it. She peered over to see what was in there and saw a small Eevee curled up next to a tree stump.

"That is so cute," Sarah caught herself saying, and the Eevee perked its head up, then delicately walked over to Sarah.

"I see you've found our Evee pen," Bronte tapped Sarah on the shoulder, making her jump,

"Oh, yeah. They are so cute!" Sarah cooed,

"We get that alot. Many people just see them for their cuteness, but if they are trained in the right way, they can become formidable in battle," Bronte told Sarah, which made her even more interested in the small, brown pokemon.

"Take Flare, he's an Eeveelotion, I evolved him with a fire stone," Bronte explained,

"Oh, I think I saw that on tv once!" Sarah exclaimed,

"I don't watch tv much around here," Bronte admitted,

"Oh, I used to watch it so much, there wasn't much else to do. I always put the pokemon channel on though, aren't there loads of different evolved forms?"  
"Yeah, we don't evolve ours unless they belong to us here though. People usually prefer to choose their own evolution,"

"That's pretty cool. Oh, by the way have you seen Wormy anywhere?" Sarah asked, remembering why she started walking in the first place,

"You're Beautifly? Yeah she was flying around everywhere. She seemed like she was loving being here," Bronte laughed, "We seem to have that effect on pokemon,"

"I hope she comes back. Anyway, I'm still in your pajamas, I was meaning to ask you where you put my clothes," Sarah said,

"Oh, Grandma took them to get them washed and dried. They should be ready now. Oh and how are you? Does it still hurt?"  
"Kind of, but I didn't really notice it until now," Sarah admitted, now that she was thinking about the pain, it came shooting back.

"Well, we should get back to grandma, she had something to tell us. I think it was serious too," Bronte said.

Sarah found herself back at the old womans house, sitting in a comfortable seat and a plate of food infront of her.

"Okay. Now I believe both of you requested an explanation?" the old lady said. Sarah felt like shooting her a sarcastic retort, but she didn't feel like it would be approriate, despite the oddness of it all, these people had shown her some hospitality and she thought it too disrespectful to make any remarks at the moment.

"Why did you bring Sarah to this island?" Bronte asked,

"Well you know of the Cave of Calling yes?"

"Oh yes, where the river starts out?" Bronte answered enthusiastically. Sarah stayed quiet, she had no idea where this conversation was going but she didn't want to interrupt,  
"The very same my dear. Well there has been a disturbance within," the lady confessed,

"What does this have to do with Sarah?" Bronte asked. Sarah was relieved that Bronte was there-she was asking the same questions that she was too shy (or scared, she wasn't sure herself which it was) to ask.

"I need the assistance of a trainer. I am sure there is a pokemon in there causing the disturbance,"

"Why me though?" Sarah spoke up, tired of staying quiet, plus she had no idea why this trainer had to be her,

"Because when I saw you despair was in your heart," the old lady said mysteriously,

"What does that have to do with anything?" Sarah replied, getting more confused with the more she learnt,

"The Cave of Calling calls out to trainers hearts my child. It brightens their soul, warms their heart. You need lifting child and the Cave of Calling can do that for you,"

"But... I feel fine now, this island. There's something happy about it," Sarah said,

"You should learn to listen to an old woman's words-they are wise beyond your years child. Nonetheless, the Cave of Calling has mystical powers and it will do you great good to visit it," Sarah sat in silence. What kind of island was this anyway?

"Grandma, are you seriously sending her in there?!" Bronte cried out, sounding alarmed. This didn't reassure Sarah at all.

"Why are you so worried about this?"

"Because, you know how big it is in there, she'll get lost! She doesn't know her way around like we do,"

"That is why you will go with her child," the old woman smirked,  
"Are you kidding me?" Bronte sighed, "I just wanted a nice lazy day today,"

"Tough, you will be accompanying this trainer," the womans voice turned harsh and the two started bickering about if Bronte would actually go,

"Hang on, hang on!" Sarah shouted out to get their attention, "I don't even know why you want me to go in there, can you not explain the situation to me before I even decide if I'm going!"

"Okay, here's the deal. Grandma needs the herbs and plants that only grow in that cave, but there is a pokemon in there that obviously has a problem or something because it's trampling about and ruining all the plants in there," Bronte said. Sarah winced as she saw a huge pokemon like a Bastiodon rampaging about and crushing everything in sight. She was pretty sure her team wouldn't be able to cope with anything like that just yet.  
"Woah, I can't deal with giant pokemon at my level!" Sarah gasped,  
"Don't be stupid child! There is no huge pokemon in there, just an angry one, I guarantee it!" the old woman scolded her,

"Nothing I can't handle then?" Sarah asked, still unsure,

"I promise you child," she answered in a softer tone. Sarah sighed in relief.

"Okay, I'll do it,"


	9. Worming Your Way Around

Becoming The Best

Chapter 9

The old woman's face lit up with glee when Sarah accepted the task, after all she had been running low on supplies. Her smile faded however, when she thought of a time when she wouldn't have to ask young trainers to do these tasks, when she would have been able to do them just as well with her powerful team and strong will. But those days were long gone, now she was but a tough old lady who took solace in the knowledge that she raised pokemon for other trainers love and care for. With a sigh she pulled herself into reality,

"Do not fear child, your Pidgey and your Growlithe have great faith in you, they will not fail you," she croaked, looking into the eyes of the two pokemon.

"What about my Beautifly?" Sarah said, not wanting the old lady to forget about Wormy,

"Does the fact that she is elsewhere instead of being here at this important time not speak for itself?" the old lady said with raised eyebrows.

"What is that supposed to mean!?" Sarah snapped,

"Do you know where this pokemon of yours is at this moment?" the old lady cackled,

"She's outside enjoying hersefl!" Sarah raised her voice, this woman was starting to get on her nerves. She knew Wormy, she was a stubborn little thing but she was lovely. How dare this woman criticise her?

"Yet your other pokemon are sitting here without even being asked,"

"SHUT UP!" Sarah shouted,

"You shouldn't have done that," Bronte gasped,

"Stupid, petulant child! How dare you raise your voice at me like that!" the old woman hissed, furious at this stupid child for being so rude and obnoxious. It never occured to her that she had driven the young girl to shouting. Air fluffed up her feathers as the old lady drew up to her full height in an attempt to intimidate Sarah, while Arcane took a step forward and raised his hackles.

"Look I'm sorry, but you were being mean about my Wormy," Sarah sighed, drooping her head in defeat,

"Well maybe you should earn your pokemons respect," the old lady muttered, hunching back over and coughing a bit. Bronte rolled her eyes and slumped down into a chair-she was used to her grandmothers mood swings.

"Wormy does respect me," Sarah said weakly,

"No, you are mistaking respect for gratitude," the old lady stared right into Sarah's eyes, making her shiver. Just as she was about to reply however, someone came tumbling in from outside like a bundle of energy and a voice called,

"I'm ho-ome!"

Bronte leapt up from the chair and squealed,

"Seth!" and with that she raced to the front of the store to jump on a blonde haired teen, who looked about 16.

"Hey Bronte! Where's Grandma?" Sarah heard him ask, then he appeared in the room, Bronte closely following him,

"Hey Grandma, here's the money. That kid sure seemed excited to be getting his first pokemon," he grinned and threw a wad of cash at the old lady. Sarah sat there, instantly shy again-was she supposed to introduce herself or not?

"I am pleased to hear that," the old lady nodded and turned back to Sarah,

"You should go and prepare for your task in the Cave of Calling," and she waved her hand toward the entrance. Sarah stood up, with Air still sitting on her shoulder and started to walk out,

"Hey, what's going on here?" Seth stopped her, looking confused,

"Grandma is sending Sarah to go into the Cave of Calling to calm down that pokemon," Bronte explained,

"I take it you're Sarah then?" he answered, turning to look at her.

"Yeah," she replied.

"Cool, I've always wanted to go inside the cave,"

"You are not going. I have appointed this task to Sarah. Bronte will help her, but you will not," the old lady said shortly,

"No fair! How come Bronte gets to go but I don't?"

"Because Bronte has been in the Cave of Calling many times, you have not,"

"Well then there's anothe reason I should go-with Bronte and a trainer then nothing will happen to me and I'll get to know the place," Seth pleaded, he was intent on going inside the cave,

"Very well, but be it on your head if something happens," the old woman said darkly,  
"Yes! Thanks Grandma!" he shouted and pulled her into a hug, which seemed to alarm the old lady, so she rapped on his head with her walking stick,

"Ouch! What was that for?"

"Stop playing around and go prepare yourselves for this journey!"

Bronte led Sarah and her pokemon back to her house and gave Sarah her clean clothes.

"Thank you," Sarah said gratefully,

"No problem," Bronte smiled and went to leave the room,

"Oh, by the way," Sarah stopped her, "You said you breed pokemon here right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"It's just... Do people come all the way out here to pick up their pokemon?"  
"Not very often. Most of the time we deliver them,"

"Who is we?" Sarah asked, curious about how this little island worked,

"Well there's me and Seth, but there's other people who live here too who help us," Bronte explained. That made Sarah even more intrigued, she hadn't seen anyone else around,

"I haven't seen anyone else,"

"They live about a mile away," Bronte said casually, "Anyway, you better get ready-we'll be going in a few minutes. You might want to call your Beautifly back aswell," Bronte said as she left the room. Sarah sighed and got changed. Arcane and Air were both lying just outside the house, sunbathing in the warm air, but she hadn't seen Wormy all morning, the Beautifly had been off flying around and playing with the other pokemon. Sarah thought about what the old lady had implied about Wormy, how apparently she didn't respect her. Sarah shook the thought out of her head-of course she did. Sarah loved that Beautifly and she knew that Wormy was a good, loyal pokemon. She got changed and grabbed her bag, then went outside.

"Wormy!" Sarah called when she got outside. She scanned the landscape but couldn't see very far-the land was too flat.

"Guys, it's going to take ages to find her," Sarah sighed. What if the old lady was right? What if Wormy had run off to become a wild pokemon again?

"Well, we caught her when she was a Wurmple, we can catch her now that she's a Beautifly," Sarah said firmly, standing up straight and walking off to look for her. Arcane stayed rooted to the spot and Air looked at him. Arcane barked and started running in the opposite direction to Sarah, his nose planted to the ground, and Air took off into the sky, also flying away from Sarah.

"Hey, guys! Wait, where are you going?!" Sarah yelled after them. She started to run, but there was no way she could keep up with her two pokemon.

"That Pidgey is pretty fast," Sarah spun around to see who had spoken to see Seth standing there.

"Really?" Sarah said, she didn't know how fast a Pidgey was supposed to be.

"Yeah, I've seen a few Pidgey in my time, and that one's pretty fast," he sounded impressed,

"Well she is a pretty cool Pidgey," Sarah smirked, feeling proud.  
"Where are they off to anyhow?" he nodded in the direction of where Arcane and Air had disappered into and Sarah felt her pride slip.

"You see, well... About that," she trailed off, not knowing how to finish her sentence.

"You best get them back soon, Grandma doesn't like to wait around. See you at the shop when you're ready, yeah?"

"Yeah, see you," Sarah smiled. She turned away and stared up into the sky

_The best thing to do now will probably be to just wait. If I move then Arcane and Air might not find me._

After a few minutes, Sarah heard a noise and turned to see an orange blur speeding towards her, and before she could move out of the way, Arcane slammed into her legs, sending her sprawling across the floor.

"You've got to stop doing that man," she coughed while pulling herself up onto her feet. Just as she stood up, a colourful set of wings batted her head, making her stumble backwards and fall over Arcane again. With a flapping of wings, Air flew down and settled next to Sarah's head. She looked up to see a moody Beautifly staring down at her.

"Wormy!" Sarah squealed, and went to hug her, but Wormy turned her back and wouldn't look at her master.

"Fine, don't hug me," Sarah muttered, feeling hurt. Was the old lady right? She stared up at Wormy, wondering what to do, when the Beautifly turned to look back at her. It fluttered down gently and spread its wings around Sarah, it's eyes full of apology.

"We've got work to do Wormy," Sarah said in a sullen tone. She was still offended by Wormy's attitude and turned to walk back to the shop. Air settled on her shoulder and Arcane trotted loyally by her heels. Wormy stayed where she was, fluttering in the air. She didn't want to hurt her trainer-but she also didn't want to go and do whatever this 'work' was. With a light sigh, she fluttered after her master.


	10. With Baited Breath

Becoming the Best

Chapter 10

Standing at the mouth of the Cave of Calling, sarah started to wonder if this was really a good idea. The river ran through the cave, deep and dark, the sides of the rock were getting splashed with the spray. The walls of the cave were high and made Sarah think of the mouth of a big pokemon. She shivered and turned to Bronte,

"Will Arcane be okay out of his pokeball?" Sarah asked her, worried in case her fire pokemon would get sucked into the depths of the water,

"Well Flare always comes with me and he's always fine. I'm not sure about your Pidgey though, caves aren't really good for flying types," Bronte said.

"Bree and Psycho should be fine too," Seth said, motioning to his pokemon. He had and Umbreon and an Espeon sitting on either side of him, looking inquisitive.

"Have you all got eveelutions?" Sarah asked,  
"Yeah, we breed the best Eevee ever!" Seth boasted,

"Cool," Sarah said absently, then turned to look at her own pokemon. She tried to decide if she should return her pokemon or not. Wormy seemed intrigued with the cave but Air hopped over to Sarah and pecked at her pokeball.

"Are you sure?" Sarah asked, Air nodded in response so Sarah returned her and stood up.

"I'm not good at battling mind!" Seth admitted before they went in,

"Flare doesn't really battle either, but it wouldn't be a good idea to battle in here anyway, not unless you are on stable ground," Bronte explained,

"Great. I think Wormy will be the best choice for battles in here," Sarah spoke mainly to herself but Arcane gave an indignant growl,

"Water is bad for you," Sarah told him, to which he just snorted at her.

"Okay, are you all ready?" Bronte asked,

"As I'll ever be!" Seth said brightly,

"I guess," Sarah said with a shrug. Psycho, Seth's Espeon leapt forward and let out a yowl,

"I guess that means he's ready too!" Seth laughed.

The group cautiously edged their way along the rocks by the river until the rock widened and the river somewhat narrowed. A loud screech sounded overhead and Sarah looked up to see a Zubat zipping around their heads. Psycho growled and readied himself to leap up at it,

"I thought you said you couldn't battle," Sarah looked at Seth, confused,

"I can't," Seth answered, seeming just as confused as Sarah. The Zubat dived down to attack and Psycho pounced, tackling it out of the air, but since he wasn't used to attacking, he didn't know how to land and fell into the water with a huge splash.

"Psycho!" Seth cried and Bree ran to the waters edge to search for her friend. Psycho resurfaced, gasping for air. He was trying to swim against the current but he wasn't strong enough,

"What do I do?" Seth yelled in panic,  
"Get Bree to help!" Bronte yelped, hating to see Psycho in trouble and not being able to do anything,

"Help? Yes! Bree, use helping hand!" Seth called to his Umbreon, and she made a movement with her head then motioned to Psycho, who seemed to gain strength from the movement and found the energy to fight against the current and he pulled himself to land. He shook off his fur and purred in delight, it even looked like he had a big grin on his face.

"Psycho, please don't get yourself killed," Seth sighed, hugging his Espeon.

"Seth, you're going to have to be more careful!" Bronte scolded him,

"It's not my fault," he muttered in repsonse, kicking at the ground,

"Whatever, let's just go," Bronte rolled her eyes.

"How do we know where to go?" Sarah asked, peering around. There were little tunnels running off from the path they were taking and she couldn't help but worry that Bronte would get them lost.

"Don't worry, I know this place really well, the pokemon seems to stay in the higher levels of the cave, so we'll have to climb up in some places," Bronte explained,

"Yeah, you know it better than I do," Seth muttered to himself,

"What do you mean?" Sarah whispered, getting the feeling that there was some sibling rivalry going on here,

"She's allowed in here whenever she wants, but I'm never allowed anywhere near it. It's so unfair," he grumbled and kicked a stray stone into the water.

"Seth!" Bronte hissed, turning around to glare at him,  
"What?" Seth said in an exasperated tone,

"If you don't respect the cave, the cave won't respect you!" she scolded,

"How the hell can a cave respect me?" Seth narrowed his eyes cynically,

"Just stop mucking around!" the older sister shot back and Seth rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"I have an older sister too," Sarah told him,

"Did she get on your nerves to the point that you could push her into this river?" he spat, still annoyed at his sister,

"Pfft, of course she did! Of course she had to be the perfect child that my parents absolutely loved and they always wondered why the heck I couldn't be more like her," Sarah frowned, remembering the constant shadow of her sister,

"What made her so perfect?" Seth asked scornfully, he was already starting to dislike Sarah's sister-she sounded to much like his own.

"She didn't have a mind of her own-she just did everything my mam and dad told her to," Sarah said as she hopped up a ledge,

"Your sister sounds too much like mine," Seth sighed, following her up the ledge.

"Your sister seems nice," Sarah said,

"She is, she's just bloody annoying," he replied a little too loudly,

"I heard that!" Bronte called down, "You two should stop talking and concentrate more on climbing," Sarah looked up at Bronte, who was up a big ledge then jumped to try and grab the edge of it. Swinging her leg, she tried to get up onto it, but ended up falling and landing on the ground below, almost landing on Seth.

"Ouch," she groaned, leaning up on her elbow. Looking up, she saw Arcane looking down at her from atop the ledge, his tongue hanging out.

"Looks like you're the one that's going to be killing yourself," Seth laughed.

After another half an hour or so of walking and climbing, the sound of rushing water became a loud roaring sound. Arcane and Flare (who had been bounding ahead with Psycho and Bree) came running back to hide behind their trainers legs, yapping. The three trainers looked at eachother then hurried ahead to see what had happened. They looked upon a raging waterfall, it's waters were rapid and strong, gushing down with great speed. Their gaze then shifted to the two Eveelutions snarling and growling at an angry Bagon, who was baring its teeth and stamping its feet.

"Uh oh. I take it that that's the pokemon we are supposed to be... Actually what are we supposed to do to this pokemon?" Sarah spluttered,

"Catch it!" Seth grinned, a wild glint in his eye.

"Seth don't be stupid, you're not a trainer!" Bronte yelled at him,

"Just watch me, once Sarah leaves this island I'm going with her!" he bit back,

"Wait, what!? Since when was this happening?" sarah said in utter suprise. They stood staring at eachother for a few minutes until a screech brought them back to their senses. Whipping his head, Seth saw Bree attacking the Bagon with her bite, but the little dragon jumped out of the way and Bree almost fell over the edge and into the raging waters.

"Seth, are you sure you can handle this battle?" Sarah said cautiously, she didn't want to see him beaten into the dust by a wild pokemon,

"Yeah, Bree and Psycho can handle themselves pretty well," he assured her, but inside he felt nervous. This would be his first real battle, other than that Zubat, but he wasn't actually sure if his two could deal with it. Bree was still trying to get her footing by the edge of the waterfall when the Bagon let out a roar and ran at the Umbreon in a rage. Seth saw the trouble that Bree was in and ordered Psycho to intercept the rage attack with a tackle. Psycho flew himself recklessly at the dragon and sent it flying into the wall of rock. Bree came back to her senses and looked at her trainer for new orders.

"Both of you, use helping hand," Seth ordered, and both pokemon made fluent gestures at eachother and felt a tingle ripple through their body. Pyscho purred with the thrill of adrenaline of battle and Seth ordered another tackle. The purple cat flung himself at the Bagon, but the dragon moved out of the way and Psycho ran head first into the wall. Bree was read however and made up with a vicious bite attack. The Bagon bent over with its hand on its stomach and started panting-it had never had such a challenge before-it was used to unleashing all of its power and crushing its foe. It didn't realise that the pokemon in the cave were all weak. Giving a snort of defiance, it stood up tall and bared its teeth at the calm Umbreon. Psycho spun around to face the dragon and both of the Eeveelutions stared at the Bagon. It stood there, its eyes shifting between each opponent-measuring them up. The Espeon seemed strong, but reckless in its attacks, whereas the Umbreon seemed to use its moves more carefully. The Bagon seemed a bit confused-it assumed that the psychic pokemon would be the more strategic battler. That thought made it decide on its next attack-he would use bite on the Espeon. With a snarl, it leapt up and sunk its teeth into the purple cat, who let out a shrill cry and thrashed around to try and dislodge the attacking pokemon.

"Psycho, stay still! Bree, use tail whip until it leaves Psycho alone!" Seth cried, and thr Umbreon jumped into action, her slender tail whipping at the Bagon like a knife, cutting through its tough skin and lowering its defense. After numerous tail whips, the Bagon let go of the Espeon, who fell to the ground and lay there, panting heavily.

"Psycho! Damn it, Bree you have to finish this!" Seth yelled to his Umbreon, who nodded her head and turned to glare at the Bagon, who was grinning evilly but holding its stomach in pain.  
"Seth! It's been weakened-use this!" Sarah cried, throwing him a pokeball from her bag.

"You sure?" he said, rubbing the back of his neck,

"Yes, just throw it!" Sarah shouted, and Seth threw the ball at the dragon just as it was about to jump at Bree. It was absorbed by the red light and the pokeball snapped shut and started to wiggle. Seth felt his breathing stop as he waited to see if he had caught it.


	11. Going Down

Becoming The Best

Chapter 11

"What do I do now?" Seth asked, stunned at what just happened.

"You give this potion to your Espeon," Sarah replied, throwing him a spray bottle full of healing liquid,

"You sure you don't mind me using this?" he asked needlessly, as he had already used it on Psycho, who jumped up into the air with an excited yowl. Seth walked over to where the small red and white pokeball lay, perfectly still. He picked it up and held it reverently, twisting his hand to stare at it from every angle.

"My very first pokemon that I ever actually caught," he said in awe.

"It's a dragon too!" Sarah grinned. She remembered when she first caught Wormy, well she didn't really catch her, but she thought of it like that. Thinking about her, Sarah looked around to see where Wormy was. She caught sight of the Beautifly flittering over the waterfall, staring at the water as it cascaded down.

"Wormy!" Sarah called, catching the Beautifly's attention. With a sigh, she flew over and looked at Sarah,

"Why have you got a Beautifly called Wormy?" Seth cut in, pulling his attention away from his pokeball for a moment,  
"Because I caught her when she was just a little Wurmple," Sarah cooed as she patted Wormy's head,

"Yeah but she isn't a one now," he said, looking confused,  
"Why don't you stop worrying about Sarah's pokemon names and start thinking about giving that Bagon a one!" Bronte snapped. Sarah turned to look at her, she seemed annoyed that her little brother had managed to catch a pokemon. She turned back to Seth, who was contemplating on what to name his Bagon.

"Why don't you let it out to see what it's like? That might help you pick a name," Sarah suggested,

"Will it not run away?" Seth said, a bit worried,

"Course it won't!" Sarah laughed at him.  
"Okay then," he said and tentatively tossed the ball to the ground. With a beam of red light, out jumped the small Bagon. It sniffed at the air and looked up at Seth.

"Hey little buddy," Seth said, kneeling down to see Bagon more easily, and in response it lowered its head and headbutted him,

"Ouch, what's that for?" the Bagon growled playfully at him and headbutted him again but harder, making him fall to the floor.

"You don't even know if it's a boy or a girl Seth," Bronte rolled her eyes,

"Oh, I can tell you that," Sarah said, flipping open her pokedex, "It says she's a girl,"

"What the heck can I call her?" Seth said as he stood up and dusted himself off. He watched as she stomped her feet on the ground, pointed at Bree then giggled to herself. Bree responded by nudging the Bagon with her head, pushing her to the floor. The Bagon stood up angrily and stomped its feet again, seeming frustrated.

"She seems to be quite... Annoyable," Sarah said uncertainly,

"You mean easily annoyed?" Bronte added helpfully,

"Yeah, that one," Sarah said absently, still watching the funny little dragon and trying to read the pokedex at the same time.

"Seth?" Sarah said,

"Hang on, I'm trying to think of a name," he said, holding his hand up to stop her from talking,

"But I think you should know this," Sarah continued,

"One minute," he brushed off her advice again,

"Seth! You need to know this!" Sarah snapped, eventually getting his attention,

"What?" he snapped back, turning to look at her.  
"It says here that Bagon like to jump off," Sarah didn't finish her sentence, instead she stood in awe and pointed at the dragon, she was about to jump off the edge of the waterfall.

"Blair! NO!" Seth screamed as the small Bagon jumped and fell down into the raging waters that were crashing off rocks and into the swirling depths below.

"Seth, quick use his pokeball!" Sarah yelled, while Bronte looked in in total panic. Before Seth could react, Psycho had seen his new team mate fall into the tempestuous waters and leapt out to grab her before she fell. He didn't however think about what he would do after that, and he too was sent hurtling into the depths of despair. Seth grabbed the Bagon's pokeball and managed to return her in time but he was fumbling about in his bag, searching for Phyco's pokeball. Bronte couldn't do anything apart from stand there, screaming while Bree stared over the edge, stunned into silence.

_I'm going to have to do something! _

"Wormy, Air, help that Espeon!" Sarah called as she flung a pokeball, releasing Air, who flew as fast as she could towards the falling Espeon. Sarah knew that Wormy wasn't very fast so she had to think of a new tactic,

"Wormy, use string shot and try your best to keep him from falling any further!"

The Beautifly shot sticky strings that wrapped around the Espeon, but the force of the fall came as a suprise to Wormy and she was yanked down by the weight of the cat.

_Crap, I hadn't thought of that!_

"Air, grab him with your claws, it's better him getting a few scratches than him dying!" Air crowed in response and dug her claws into Psychos flesh, the pain caused him to yelp loudly and he started to struggle. Air was finding it harder and harder to stay in the air and the next thing she knew, she felt the splattering impact of the water slamming into her.

* * *

"Shit," Seth muttered, running his hand through his hair,

"My pokemon!" Sarah screamed, staring down into the darkness where the water had just exploded with the impact of the pokemon combined with the crushing weight of the gallons of water that were cascading down.

"Seth! What the heck have you just done?!" Bronte bawled at Seth, who stayed silent and simply stared down, tears brimming in his eyes.

"It was Blair's fault, she jumped over the cliff," he said in a hollow voice,

"This is why you aren't allowed in here!" she continued, shouting as loud as she could. Sarah started shaking and Arcane was shivering, his ears pasted to the side of his head in shock. Bree made a noise and Arcane cocked his ears up, listening. He nodded and together they ran off. Seth didn't notice, he was still staring into the darkness and Bronte was too busy yelling at him to see.

With hope rising up in her heart, Sarah ran after the two pokemon, determined to find the rest of her team.


	12. Split Ends

Becoming the Best

Chapter 12

"_Air, Air where are you!?_" Wormy twittered, diving in and out of the water repeatedly to look for her friend,

"_I can see her, she can't swim!" _Psycho shouted, surfacing from the water.

"_Go back and get her then!_" Wormy cried, fluttering her wings in a panic.

_Why did I even come here in the first place? I should have ran away when I got the chance, _Wormy thought dismally.

Psycho dived back down and grabbed the squawky Pidgey in his mouth to bring her back to dry land. The three pokemon sat down and looked at eachother, taking in their injuries.

"_I would fly up there to show them we're okay, but my wing will not carry me that far up. I apologise," _Air crowed, lowering her head to examine her wing, it had been bent at a strange angle when she hit the water and would not support her in the air.  
"_It would be pointless anyway. I say we just find our own way out, if we don't find our trainer then all the better," _Wormy replied bitterly.

"_Do not say that about trainer-she is a good person and you should respect her! If you talk about her like that then I will peck you!" _the Pidgey fluffed up her feathers angrily at the Beautifly,  
"_I say we just climb up those rocks, what have we got to lose?" _Psycho meowed, motioning to the rocks by the side of the waterfall,

"_I am sorry but I am not good at climbing, that route would almost certainly kill me," _Air replied calmly,

"_Well in that case we'll just find another way up," _Psycho winked and pulled the Pidgey onto his back so they could move quicker.

* * *

"Arcane, Bree, wait up!" Sarah panted as she almost lost sight of the pair of canines when they jumped down a ledge. Sarah tried to jump down but her foot caught on a rock and she tumbled down the rest of the way.

"I'm going to have to stop doing that," Sarah groaned as she picked herself up. Arcane looked at her until she caught up then ran off at a sprint again to catch up with Bree.

"I can't run very fast!" Sarah yelled after them, then stopped abrubtly as a pokemon stood in front of her-blocking the way. It spread its wings wide and grinned manically in her face-baring its big sharp teeth. Craning her neck, Sarah tried to see how far away Arcane and Bree were, but she couldn't see them at all. The big pokemon loomed in front of her and stepped closer.

"Oh shit," she muttered.

* * *

"Don't you get it?! You've just gotten Psycho _killed _Seth! How could you? How could you let that happen?" Bronte yelled in her brothers face. Seth stayed where he was, unmoving. His stomach ached with the pain of loss. Psycho and Bree had been with him since he could remember, he couldn't imagine his life without either of them. But Psycho had just taken his life trying to save a new pokemon.

"You're not listening to a word I'm saying are you?" Bronte snapped, waving her arms around in annoyance.

"Some people jump waterfalls for fun," Seth said suddenly,

"What?!" Bronte yelled,

"They might not have died!" he grinned. He saw a small glimmer of hope inside and he grabbed hold of it, hopinh beyond anything that his Espeon had survived. Without saying another word, he bent over and dived over the waterfall, down below.

"SETH!!!" Bronte screamed after him. She looked around and realised her and Flare were alone.

* * *

Light shone in through the mouth of the cave and the smell of grass was too sweet for Wormy to resist.

"_I'm going to stay here, I don't like being inside that cave," _she said to Air and Psycho,

"_Nor do I but we need to find our trainers," _Air replied irritably,

"_I swear I will wait here for you, I just can't handle being in there," _Wormy said forcefully,

"_Trainer needs us! Stop being selfish and start moving!" _Air growled,

"_I'm staying here! I'm not scared of battling you!" _the Beautifly widened her wings, trying to intimidate the Pidgey,

"_Look, I'm all for battling and everything but please can we get a move on?" _Psycho interrupted, shifting from foot to foot, he was getting restless and hated staying still,

"_Fine, stay here. Some pokemon you are," _Air snapped angrily and the Beautifly looked at her smugly, then turned to settle down on the grass. Psycho snorted at Wormy, he couldn't believe the pokemon could just sit there while she didn't know where her trainer was. He made sure Air was secure on his back, then stole off into the cave, trying to follow the path they had taken when they first arrived. He was swift and sure on his feet, leaping up the ledges and slinking through the shadows. Unfortunately, his senses weren't so good and he soon got them lost.

* * *

With a nasty noise, the Golbat closed in on Sarah and she could see the poison dripping off its teeth. She came to the conclusion that poison pokemon must just have something against her. It had happened enough times to her; so when something furry and orange came running onto the scene, tackling the Golbat away she wasn't very suprised at all. The thing that did suprise her was the fact that it wasn't Arcane who had saved her this time. It was a Flareon.

"Sarah!" Sarah spun around to see Bronte running towards her, when she reached her she flung her arms around her,

"I was so worried, where did you go?" Bronte asked,

"Arcane and Bree ran off, I thought it best to follow them," she said,

"I can see you did a good job of that," Bronte replied sarcastically,

"They are very fast runners!" Sarah defended herself.

"And so is Flare, which is a good thing or you could be dead by now!" Bronte said, turning back to her Flareon, then got a big shock.

"Holy crap, Flare get out of there!" Bronte screeched. The Flareon had somehow gotten herself into the river and the Golbat was still attacking her. Pulling herself onto the rocks, Flare shook the water off her fur and Bronte tossed her a berry. After gobbling it down, Flare started attacking the Golbat with renewed energy.

"You said he couldn't battle!" Sarah said, realising that Flare was indeed very strong,

"I said he doesn't battle, I didn't say he couldn't," Bronte smiled slyly.

* * *

"_I just heard something!" _Bree whispered, standing alert and straining her ears to hear more. Arcane turned around to look and saw that his trainer wasn't following,

"_What if something has happened to my trainer?!" _he whined in a panic,

"_We cannot worry about that now, the others may be seriously injured, they need us more right now," _Bree answered,

"_But she has no pokemon with her now, she could be in danger!" _

"_I assure you she will be fine," _the Umbreon tried to reassure the Growlithe, but Arcane hated the thought of his trainer being in danger,

"_We have to go back Bree, please?" _

"_You do not understand! I cannot lose Psycho! We have been together for years, he is my brother and I will not abandon him! My trainer will be distraught if he is lost!" _Bree stopped in her tracks and glared at Arcane, trying to make him understand her plight-she needed to find Psycho, no matter what the Growlithe wanted to do.

* * *

Dragging himself out of the water, Seth looked at his leg. It was bleeding fairly badly after he had cut it on a rock when he hit the pool at the bottom of the waterfall. Cursing to himself, he took off his jacket and wrapped it around his leg, not really knowing if it would do anything to help, but he thought it was better than nothing. He looked around himself and noticed one thing. There were no pokemon around.

"Damn it!" he shouted, his voice reverbrated around the cave and he felt terribly exposed. It also fired the hope inside him even more-if the pokemon weren't there than it meant they were okay! The he absorbed the silence and he felt empty again.

_I don't have any pokemon with me, I am totally defenseless now!_

As he wandered around the cave, having no idea where he was going he thought about what would happen if he ran in to an angry pokemon. Then he remembered his Bagon.

"Oh, yeah! Blair, go!" he said and released the Bagon, who looked at him then headbutted his legs again.

"Why did I actually call you Blair?" he thought aloud. It had just suddenly come into his head when he saw her jumping down the waterfall.

_I guess it'll have to do._

"Well, I have no idea what's going to happen now Blair. We're just going to have to walk,"


	13. Conflicts and Reunions

Becoming The Best

Chapter 13

"_Are you absolutely sure you have my brothers scent?" _Bree asked the Growlithe, she was sceptical about this small pokemons abilities. After all, he wasn't very strong yet and he was fairly young.

"_Look, I'm a Growlithe-once I get a scent I never lose it," _

"_We have been running for a while now though, why haven't we found them?" _Arcane stood upright at a point in his path.

"_The trail goes stale here, but..." _he put his nose to the ground and started sniffing closer to the wall,  
"_That's it, they went through here," _he looked up to see a small hole in the wall, close to the ground.

"_Why did he go through here?" _Bree asked, peering through the small hole. She was bigger than her brother and was unsure if she would be able to get through.

_"If we go through we'll find out," _Arcane smirked and crawled through on his belly. Bree sighed and crawled through after him, flattening her ears so she could crawl through more easily,

"_Air!" _Arcane yelped and disappeared out of sight. Bree started to crawl faster, she didn't like the shocked tone in Arcane's voice. She crawled through and into an opening, there was no river or runnng water passing through here, just a large round rocky room with grass strewn across the ground. She didn't take any of this in though, the only thing she saw was her brother lying in the middle, unmoving while Arcane stood protectively over him, growling viciously at a huge pokemon who had just batted the small Pidgey against the wall with its tail.

* * *

"Flare, do you know where to go?" Sarah asked nervously. The Flareon looked up at her and didn't nod or shake his head, he just stared at her,

"Just trust him Sarah, it's the easiest thing to do," Bronte said simply. She was used to just trusting Flares instinct without even asking him.

"What will happen if we never find them?" Sarah said, shuddering at the thought of never seeing her team again,

"Don't worry, we'll find them," Bronte sang happily,

"How can you be so happy?" Sarah said darkly. Bronte didn't answer. She knew that if she showed any sign of being upset then she would break down and that wouldn't do any good at all, so instead she refused to show any sign of the sorrow that was in her heart.

"Let's just keep going, yeah?" Bronte replied and they walked on in silence. After a while, they came out at the cave entrance where Sarah squealed with excitement.

"Wormy! You're okay!" the Beautifly, despite not really liking being a trained pokemon, felt her heart lift a little when she saw Sarah running towards her,

"Where are the others?" Bronte cried out, realising there was only Wormy there. The Beautifly pointed back inside and Sarah and Bronte turned to go running back in, but Sarah stopped when she realised Wormy wasn't following.

"Wormy, come here!" she said, but the Beautifly shook her head in defiance,

"Wormy I am your trainer and you will come here. Now!" she ordered. With a sigh, Wormy fluttered forward huffily and followed Sarah. She was beginning to hate having a trainer.

* * *

"Blair, use bite!" Seth yelled, and the Bagon closed its jaw on the attacking Zubat, knocking it out cold.  
"Great job, now let's keep moving," Seth said and together he and his little dragon carried on walking. They were slowly gaining altitude and were making their way upwards, when they heard a ferocious roar from underneath them, then a yelp that sounded too familiar.

"Bree!" he screamed, and Blair looked at him in alarm. She knew there was something underneath, and the ground they were on seemed thin and unstable. She stomped her feet about, searching for a soft spot on the ground. When she found it, she started stamping her feet and jumping up and down.

"Blair, what are you doing? We've got to find Bree!" Seth said, worrying about is Umbreon. The Bagon just looked at him as the earth fell away from beneath their feet and they were dropped down into the cavern below.

* * *

"_Kallie! What are you doing?" _Bree screamed at the Kangaskhan that was angrily beating at the Pidgey with her tail,

"_Stay out of this Bree, your brother and his friend attacked my baby!" _she roared back.

"_Your baby attacked us!" _the distressed Pidgey screeched,

"_Never! I'm going to kill you for saying that! I'm going to kill all of you!" _the huge pokemon bellowed, and ran at Bree, who got crushed against the wall, letting out a painful cry. Arcane leapt into action and jumped onto the enraged pokemons back, then bit in to the back of its neck, causing it to spin around, throwing Arcane off its back and into the opposite wall. Suddenly, the ceiling of rock collapsed and Seth and Blair came tumbling down with the rocks. Kangaskhan roared in anger and raised its foot to crush the human that lay there, shocked with the force with which he hit the floor. Upon seeing this, Bree, Arcane and Blair all attacked the pokemon at once, causing it to fall to the floor, where Bree started to rip into it viciously with her teeth,

"_How could you?! You hurt my brother! He could be dead now!" _the Umbreon screeched as she tore into the pokemons flesh, anger consuming her.

"Bree! Bree calm down, don't kill it!" Seth yelled, seeing a side of his Umbreon he had never seen before. As if being snapped out of it, Bree stopped suddenly, realising that the Kangaskhan was not resisting anymore. With the Kangaskhan dealt with, she ran to her brothers side, to make sure he was okay,

"_Psycho, Psycho can you hear me?" _she whined, tears running down her face,

"_Bree, you're here," _the Espeon purred weakly, he hadn't any strength left in him at all, and Seth ran over to him,

"It's okay Psycho, I've got you now," he soothed, and picked up the cat in his arms, "Arcane, please can you show me how to get out of here?" he said, looking at the Growlithe. Arcane ran over to where Air lay instead and picked her up in his mouth-she was unconscience.

"_I will transport the Pidgey, you can stay in front and lead the way," _Bree said calmly, happy to have her brother and trainer back. She carefully took Air in her mouth and trotted along at her masters side. Blair saw the Pidgey hanging out of the Umbreons mouth and was intrigued. Without asking, she reached up and grabbed her out of Bree's mouth.

"_She is too big for you to carry, you are only small," _Bree said gently, trying to take back Air, but Blair sharply turned away so she couldn't and carried on walking with Air in her arms.

"What should I do about that Kangaskhan?" Seth spoke to himself. He thought about it-he was sure he recognised the pokemon but he wasn't sure where from. He sighed and decided to just follow the Growlithe, leaving behind the huge pokemon.

* * *

Footsteps echoed through the cave as Bronte and Sarah ran through it to find the others, and Sarah was beginning to get stressed. She didn't like this place and wondered why she had agreed to do it. The thing that annoyed her the most was the fact that she had managed to lose her team. She had never been seperated from Arcane since she got him and she hated it. Consumed with her thoughts-she didn't realise where she was running and ended up falling over again, the pain in her leg came shooting back and she felt something warm on her leg. Pulling back her trouser, she saw blood seeping through the bandage again. She fought back the urge to start crying and sat up, her head in her hands. Without Arcane she felt empty inside, he was like her rock and without him she didn't feel whole. She felt something warm and wet on her face and looked up to see a grinning orange face, tongue hanging out in a wide smile.

"ARCANE!" Sarah screamed and threw her arms around her trusty Growlithe. She looked up to see Seth walking towards them-an out cold Espeon in his arms. She looked around for Air and saw the small dragon pokemon staggering along, not being able to see very well over the bundle of feathers she was carrying.

"Air!" Sarah squealed and ran over to take her Pidgey in her arms.

"What happened?" Bronte asked, taking in her brothers appearence. He had mud and dust streaked all over him and he looked like he had been dragged through a bush,

"There was this huge Kangaskhan, I think I recognised it, but I'm not sure how. But anyway, it was attacking us all and then Bree went all crazy on it and nearly killed it," he said, his mind going through the events that had happened. He had seen a look in his Umbreons eyes, as if she also knew the pokemon. But she couldn't have done. Could she?

"You couldn't have recognised it Seth, Kangaskhan aren't supposed to live on this island," Bronte snorted,

"I could have recognised it! You know as well as I do that-"

"Shut up! We're not getting into that argument again!" Bronte shouted back at him. Sarah didn't want to get in the middle of a whole family argument, so she changed the subject,

"Shouldn't we just get out of here? Our pokemon need healed," she said.

"Yeah. Let's go," Seth said shortly, and they all turned to leave the cave.


	14. Reaching Zen

Becoming The Best

Chapter 14

"Dude, just tell her you want to leave the island," Sarah told Seth as they sat on the grass, their pokemon were running around and playing with eachother. They had gotten out of the cave and the old lady had healed up their pokemon. After hearing their story, she wasn't best pleased with Seth catching the pokemon. Sarah wondered why she did not like her grandson catching pokemon, but thought it best not to ask the old lady-she was a scary.

"You don't know what she's like though, she can be pretty scary when she wants to be,"

"I can imagine," Sarah muttered. Seth lay back on the grass with a sigh, he really hated being stuck on the island.

"You know, you could just run away without telling her, that's what I did," Sarah told him. She was sitting staring out into the distance, hugging her knees, thinking about how her plan had gone wrong and she had ended up on this island.

"Really?" Seth asked, sitting up and looking at her,

"Yeah, I was supposed to leave next year but I got so sick of being stuck in Woodham that I decided to leave,"

"Cool... I might have to do that," his thoughts trailed off and they both sat in silence, watching their pokemon. Wormy was fluttering around, sniffing at all the plants. Blair was running around on the grass, trying to catch Air, she was jumping up and trying to fly like her. Bree, Psycho and Arcane were all racing eachother back and forth between two rocks, Psycho was way ahead of the other two, and Arcane was in line with Bree's tail.

"So did you get Psycho and Bree from this island then?" Sarah asked, curious about his two pokemon.

"No," Seth answered after a long pause.

"Oh. Where did you get them from then?" Sarah asked, now even more curious.

"I just... Did," he replied, unsure what to say. Sarah thought it weird that he wouldn't talk about his pokemon but decided to drop the subject,

"Okay then," she said, there wasn't much else she could say. They sat in silence for a bit longer until Air came flying over and settled on her shoulder. Blair followed and tried to jump onto Sarah's other shoulder, but Seth grabbed hold of her to stop her.

"Blair, leave the Pidgey alone for a bit, yeah?" he told his dragon. Blair responded by headbutting Seths head, causing him to drop her.

"You need to stop doing that," he moaned, rubbing his forehead while Sarah laughed at him.

"Just wait till she's stronger," Sarah laughed at him,  
"The only way she can get stronger is if I get off this island," he said, flopping back down on the grass. Blair saw him lying down and decided that his stomach would be an ideal seat.

"Well then get off the island," Sarah said, standing up suddenly, making Air fly up into the sky. Blair saw the Pidgey take off again and jumped up, trying to catch her. Seth stayed lying down and looked up at her, his eyebrows raised,

"It'll never happen," he said in a bored tone, then looked away. Sarah rolled her eyes,

"Right, get up," she stated, hands on her hips.

"What?"

"I said get up. You are going to tell your grandma that you're leaving," Sarah told him. He just rolled his eyes at her and looked at the pokemon again,

"Whatever," he muttered. Getting sick of his attitude, Sarah grabbed his arm and pulled him up.

"Come on," she ordered,

"You're not gonna let this go are you?" he sighed,

"Nope,"

* * *

"You want to leave this island do you?" the old lady cackled,

"Yeah," Seth mumbled, looking at the floor. The old lady looked closely at her grandson. He was serious about what he was saying. She remembered the day, long ago when she started her own pokemon journey: when she set out with her beloved Barley, an Eevee to traverse the land and become a great trainer. She had given up that life when Barley died, 13 years ago. A hole had remained in her heart since that day and she had never forgotten her precious pokemon. Barley need not have died that day, her death could have been prevented, but that other trainer... The old lady pulled herself out of her thoughts, and Sarah noticed her eyes had misted over, she was on the verge of tears. She shook her head and a hardened her face,

"You may take Pringle across the water," she said simply, then turned to walk out of the room,  
"Actually, before you go I would like to thank you Sarah," the old lady's voice was soft,

"Me?" Sarah said, suprised,

"Yes, you have helped me in many ways,"

"But I didn't do anything," Sarah replied,

"Yes you did. You helped me in ways you cannot imagine," the old lady said mysteriously, "I would like you to take an Eevee, then you may be off," she said, then walked out.

"That was... Strange," Seth said, more to himself than anyone else.

"I'm getting an Eevee!" Sarah took an intake of air, unable to believe it. She was getting another pokemon!

* * *

Seth took Sarah along to the Eevee pen so she could pick up her newest team member. She looked over the fence and saw a small Eevee curled up on the tree stump, it perked its head up when it saw Sarah and stood up.

"Hey, I think that's the same one I saw this morning," Sarah said gently,

"It might be," Seth answered her, sitting on the fence. Sarah looked into the eyes of the Eevee, it had a calm, serene look in its eyes. It cocked its head to the side and smiled at Sarah, making her laugh.

"I want this one," Sarah decided, standing up and looking at Seth,

"What do you want me to do about it?"

"Well am I allowed to go into the pen and get it?" she asked nervously,

"Yeah why not?" he shrugged. So she hopped over the fence and sat down next to the Eevee, then got out her pokedex, which told her the Eevee was a girl.

"Now I have to name you. Well you look pretty peaceful. I think I'll have to give you a zen-like name. Ooo, what about just Zen?" Sarah spoke to herself, but the Eevee smiled again and bowed her head at the name.

"Okay, Zen it is!" Sarah said, smiling herself.

"You're calling her Zen?" Seth laughed,

"Yes, what's wrong with that?"

"First Wormy and now Zen, you need to see the Name Rater!" he started laughing even more at her, almost falling off the fence,

"So? I could totally beat you in a battle!" Sarah snapped at him,

"Oh, you're on!"

* * *

"Okay, you can use 3 pokemon each, you can switch out at any time, no items are allowed to be used. The first trainer to have no able pokemon left loses!" Bronte called out the rules and Sarah nodded. She had decided on her three pokemon-Arcane, Air and Zen. She threw her first pokeball and released her new pokemon-Zen. She watched as Seth released his newest pokemon, Blair.

"This will be interesting," Sarah smiled and the match began.

* * *

**Hi, thanks for reading :) I've just realised how strange Air and Blair sound together, I didn't think of that before I named her-sorry! **


	15. Are You Confused?

Becoming The Best

Chapter 15

"Zen, use sand-attack," Sarah called. The small Eevee kicked at the ground, sending earth scattering into Blair's eyes, causing her vision to be obscured.

"Blair, use rage!" Seth shouted, and Blair ran at Zen wildly, knocking her to the ground. The Eevee rolled over and sprang back up,

"Use tail whip!" Sarah said; Zen jumped into the air and brought her tail down sharply on to the Bagon's back, cutting through its thick defensive skin.

"Quick Blair, use bite!" Seth yelled, and Blair spun around to attack but the dust in her eyes prevented her from seeing where the opponent was,

"Quick, use tackle!" Sarah shouted, and Zen flung herself at Blair, tackling her to the ground. Blair roared in aggravation and ran at Zen,

"That's it Blair, use bite!"

"Zen, dodge it then use tackle!" Sarah yelled, and the Eevee quickly jumped out of the way and tackled Blair to the ground.

"Blair, try and bite her!" Seth yelled, but it was no use. Zen was darting around and tackling him from every angle and Blair couldn't even see properly, so when he tried to attack, he missed. With a last cry of determination, Blair ran at Zen in a rage attack, striking her hard in the side. Zen stood back up calmly and stared at her foe.

"You can do it Zen!" Sarah encouraged, and her Eevee nodded slowly.

"Blair, use bite!" Seth yelled in a last attempt at victory. Zen simply sat and waited until Blair was nearly upon her, then jumped out of the way then turned and tackled Blair to the floor. She didn't get up.

"Fair do's," Seth sighed and returned Blair, "You did a good job girl," he said, then took out his next pokeball. He saw the look in Zen's eye, she kept her calm during battle, much like his Bree did. Deciding to fight fire with fire, he sent out Bree.

"She hasn't got much strength left Bree, use tail whip then hit her with a tackle," Seth said, and Bree followed his orders precisely, knocking Zen off her feet with a harsh blow. The small Eevee struggled to get back onto her feet, but another tackle from Bree sent her sprawling again and she was thrown unconscious.

"You did great Zen," Sarah smiled and with a zap of red light, she was safely back in her pokeball. As she was debating on who to send out next, a bark from her side told her that Arcane was ready and raring to go,

"Okay Arcane, set yourself away," Sarah laughed, and the Growlithe ran onto the field, staring at the Umbreon, who was taller than him, but also more slender.

"Tackle!" Seth yelled, at the same time that Sarah shouted,

"Arcane, use ember!"

The Umbreon ran at Arcane, who sent a burning ember at the charging pokemon. Bree ran through the flame, winced with the pain but kept on running, then slammed into Arcane, who managed to keep his footing and withstood the attack without getting knocked to the floor. Bree winced with pain, the ember had left her with a nasty burn.

"Use bite!" Sarah shouted, seeing the slackening in the Umbreons defense. Growlithe lurched forward and closed his teeth around Bree, who flung him off easily.

"Use sand-attack Bree!" and she scratched earth at Arcane.  
"Get away from it!" Sarah yelled frantically, and Arcane jumped out of the way of the pesky dust.

"Use another ember!"

Arcane fired the embers again, but Bree stepped surely out of the way and tackled Arcane to the ground.

"Bite it quick!" Sarah shouted, and Arcane flicked his jaws closed over Bree's tail when she tried to get away. With a yelp, Bree was brought to a halt in her running,

"Bree, use tail whip!" Seth cried out, and Arcane felt Bree's tail hammer the roof of his mouth, so he let it go with a yelp.

"Arcane, you'll be fine! Use bite!" Sarah yelled, and the Growlithe bit down yet again on the Umbreon, who shuddered with the pain,

"Quick, use another ember!" Sarah shouted excitedly. Arcane shot some more flames towards Bree, who buckled over with the pain and fought to get back up. Before she could stagger back to her feet, Arcane ran at her and bit her right where her ribs would be. Bree let out a small whine in pain and fell to the floor, defeated.

"Well, looks like Psycho is going to have to do this on his own," Seth sighed and threw the pokeball into the battlefield.  
"Psycho, you can do it!" he cried, and Psycho crouched down with a yowl, ready for battle. Arcane bared his teeth with a fierce snarl, just as ready as for battle as Psycho.

"Start off with a tackle!" Seth said, and quick as a flash, Psycho was on top of Arcane, knocking him over.  
"Get back up and use bite!" Sarah said to her Growlithe and Arcane jumped onto the Espeons back and sunk his teeth into Pychos fur, hurting the purple cat with its super effectiveness. Psycho let out a cry and Arcane was thrown off Psychos back by an unseen force.

"Woah, what was that?" Bronte gasped. Sarah flipped open her pokedex to see,

"It looks like Psycho just learned confusion," Sarah sighed. That only meant that Seth would have another move to his advantage.

"Wow, cool! Psycho, use confusion again!" Seth yelled, and Psycho stared hard at Arcane, who started yelping and banging his head off the ground.

"Ha! He's confused!" Seth laughed.

"No, Arcane snap out of it!" Sarah called to her Growlithe, but Arcane kept on hurting himself, unable to pull himself out of his confusion,

"Brilliant! Psycho, finish it off with a tackle!" Seth laughed, and his Espeon tackled Arcane to the floor, leaving him unable to battle.

"Well, Air will have to finish this off, give it your best!" Sarah yelled and released Air into the fray.

"Kick start things with a gust!"

Air flew into action and whipped up a small whirlwind that slammed in to Psycho, flinging him back a fair few feet, but he got back up and directed a well aimed tackle at the Pidgey, knocking her out of the air and onto the ground. She immediately flew up again, knowing she was better with her wings than on her feet.

"Use another gust Air,"

"Stop her with a tackle!" Seth yelled and Psycho leapt up at Air, but she had already whipped up a gust of wind and Psycho got thrown violently away from the Pidgey, sliding across the ground in a cloud of dust.

"It's okay, use a tail whip,"

Psycho jumped into action and the sound of his tail cracking against Air echoed through the valley.

"Air, fly into the air so he can't hit you, then use a gust!" Sarah advised her Pidgey. So Air flew up high and started to whip up another gust of wind,  
"That tactic won't work Sarah, Psycho use confusion!" Seth yelled. Psycho glared at Air just as she let loose her gust, then she was shot out of the air by Psychos attack. Likewise, Psycho was thrown off his feet by the force of the gust attack. Dust whipped up in the air, obscuring the view of the trainers. Sarah strained her eyes, trying to see through the dust to see which pokemon would get up from the attack, hoping it would be Air.

_If I lose this match then I must be a pretty bad trainer. I mean, isn't this his first trainer battle?_

Soon enough, the flapping of wings could be heard-clearing the dust away and showing the battle field.

"Psycho!" Seth yelled and ran to his pokemons side. Psycho was lying on the ground, breathing heavily but too exhausted to stand up. Sarah looked over to Air, who was simply sitting and preening her feathers. She then hopped over to Psycho and bowed her head slightly to him, before flying up onto Sarah's shoulder.

"You did brilliantly," Sarah smiled and leant her head affectonately towards Air, who nuzzled into her hair.

"Seth, you put up a really good fight! I thought you didn't battle," Sarah said,

"I've never battled before, but that doesn't mean my pokemon haven't," he said. Sarah wondered what that actually meant, but before she could ask him, Bronte ran over and hugged her,

"Well done! I've never seen a battle like that before, it was so cool!" she gushed. Sarah suddenly felt really embarrassed, she wasn't sure she was that great yet, but she appreciated the compliment anyway,

"Thanks," she smiled, and hugged her back.

It was a few hours later and Sarah was sitting cross legged on the ground next to Seth and Bronte; Arcane lying at her side. Zen was spending her last night in her pen, curled up on her favourite tree stump. Air was resting in the barn with the Tailow. Wormy... Well Sarah had no idea where Wormy was. The old lady had said they were to leave in the morning-after they had a good rest that night.

"I can't believe you're actually going to leave in the morning," Bronte sighed, looking off into the red sky,

"No one would care anyway," Seth muttered. Sarah was suprised, when she first saw him arriving at the shop that morning he had seemed so different, so much happier. Maybe he just didn't like being on the island.

"Don't say that! I'm going to miss you, you're my little brother after all," Bronte protested, putting her arm around him. Seth just snorted and shook her arm off of him in a huff,

"What's wrong with you?" Bronte snapped, getting irritated at his attitude,

"Just face it, you really aren't going to miss me. Neither will the old lady," he sighed, lying back onto the grass. Sarah glanced around nervously, she didn't want to get in the middle of a family argument.

"Why don't you just call her grandma?" Bronte frowned at him, but he wasn't looking at her.

"You know why," he snarled, then got up and walked away. Sarah just sat there, feeling awkward. She chanced a look at Bronte, who just rolled her eyes,

"He can be such a jerk when he wants to be," she said, then she walked away too. Sarah sighed and wrapped her fingers around Arcanes fur,

"We better go get some sleep too. We have a big day tomorrow,"


	16. A Heartless Goodbye

Becoming The Best

Chapter 16

It was the day she was to leave the island and Sarah was walking around. She was a bit sad to leave it without really exploring the place. Arcane was running back and forth as she was walking, happy to have so much space to run around in but never letting his master get out of his sight. Zen trotted peacefully by her side, having always lived on the island, she was content to walk by her new trainers side and get to know her silently. Air was circling the skies above, scanning the landscape to appreciate the natural beauty of the place. Wormy was far away on the other side of the island, flittering among all the plants, blissfully unaware that she would be leaving the place fairly soon.

"You know, I'm going to miss this place in a weird way," Sarah said to herself. She didn't realise that Zen was listening until she nudged her leg, as if asking why,

"I dunno, I think it's 'coz like, I've had my first real adventure here, this is where my journey has began, you know? It seems kind of... Special," she said airily, looking around as she spoke. Zen nodded her head in understanding and looked around herself. It really was a beautiful island, green grass as far as the eye could see, with a bright blue sky above. Sarah sighed, she was actually going to leave that day and set out for the first gym. It was a bit scary to think of, she realised that she had never really been to a city before and she found herself wondering what it would be like. She was sure there would be loads of people, then she thought that maybe, just maybe she would see Kaleb. After all, she had only been on the island for two days, if the Lapras was a quick swimmer then maybe she could get to Mora City before he left. The thought brightened her up as she walked, until she got close to the old lady's shop.

"I don't care what you say! I'm leaving to try and find out what _really _happened!" Seths voice boomed from inside the small building. Sarah didn't hear the old lady's reply, but she heard Seth shouting again,  
"Don't think I haven't picked up on your lies! It's obvious you haven't been telling me the full story!"

Sarah took a step back from the building and started to walk over to where she could see Wormy drinking from the plants when the door flew open and Seth stormed out.

"We're leaving in half an hour," he muttered when he saw Sarah then walked off. Sarah stared after him, wondering what the heck that was all about.

Turning to Wormy, Sarah gently tried to pick her up, but the Beautifly batted her with her wings and flew into the air, staring down at her,

"Wormy, we have to leave soon, come on!" she called, and in response Wormy aimed a gust at her. She couldn't move out of the way in time and was thrown cruelly off her feet, landing roughly in the dirt. She grabbed her elbow, feeling a painful graze. Within a second, Arcane was in the air, tackling Wormy to the ground with a vicious roar, his sharp teeth were mere inches from Beautifly's face, saliva dripped off and onto Wormy, who lay shaking with fear.

"How... How could you?" Sarah whimpered, totally hurt at what Wormy had just done. She felt tears spring into her eyes and she stumbled away from her pokemon, scared incase she should try to attack her again. She wiped the tears as she ran and suddenly felt herself colliding with someone. Looking up from the ground, she saw Bronte looking at her with concern,

"What's wrong? Sarah what happened?" she asked worriedly,

"Wormy attacked me," Sarah answered, her voice shaking,

"What?! Why?"

"I don't know, I don't know," Sarah spoke in ragged gasps, unable to comprehend the sheer chaos that were her thoughts. The most prominent one was: How could she ever trust Wormy again?

Sarah was sitting in Bronte's house, talking about what had just happened,

"I'm sorry for freaking out, it's just... How could she do that?" she sighed, stroking Arcane's familiar orange fur. He was lying next to her on the couch, having followed her after making sure Wormy was scared out of her skin,

"It's perfectly understandable, but you should really think about wether or not you should take her with you," Bronte said gently,

"I know. I hate to say it but... I don't think I could face looking at her again. She had this look in her eye Bronte, like she didn't like me at all!" Sarah said, getting herself panicky again.  
"I'm sure there's a reason,"

"Could you do me a favour," Sarah said, sitting up straighter,

"It depends,"

"Look, I don't think I want Wormy to travel with me, she obviously doesn't want to, so what do you think about keeping her here?" she said, looking at Bronte straight in the eye. She hoped she would agree-as much as she didn't trust Wormy anymore, she didn't want her to just be abandoned and this island seemed like the perfect place for her to stay.  
"I dunno, I don't want to take your pokemon off you," Bronte said nervously,

"Aww c'mon, Wormy loves this island-it's perfect for her,"

"Well I _have _always wanted a Beautifly," Bronte muttered, starting to crack,

"So you'll do it?"

"I suppose,"

"YES! Thank you!" Srah squealed, jumping up and hugging her.

Standing at the shore, Pringle the Lapras waiting patiently for them, Sarah looked at Bronte and the old lady.

"Thanks for everything," Sarah said in a small voice. The old lady cackled and Bronte smiled at her, sad to see her new friend leaving so soon.

"Promise you'll visit again one day?" Bronte asked both of them. Seth just shrugged but Sarah smiled and nodded. Seth turned and climbed onto Pringles back, Bree and Espeon hopped up with him and Sarah took that as her cue to follow. Just as she jumped up onto the pokemons back, she had a thought.

"Wait, I never asked you your name!" Sarah called back to the old lady as Pringle started to swim away.

"All in good time," the old lady chuckled and turned her back to walk away.


	17. Lap It Up

_Hi, thanks for the reviews, it really means alot to me :) I don't really think this chapter is one of the best ones mind, but I hope you enjoy it anyway :) Thanks for reading!_

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Chapter 17

Sitting on the back of the giant blue pokemon, Sarah took one last look at the island. She felt a little tug at her heart when she thought about not having Wormy anymore, but she knew her Beautifly would be happy. So instead she looked ahead, over the vast blue sea, which sparkled in the suns glare.

"So you're challenging the gyms, yeah?" Seth asked, pulling Sarah out of her thoughts,

"Yep. I'm going to do some training when I get to Mora, then challenge the gym," Sarah explained,

"Training? I think you're pokemon could take on the gym as they are," Seth told her,

"Yeah, but the whole type advantage thing is going to really hurt my chances of winning, so I want to make sure they can win no problem,"

"I would call it a type _dis_advantage in that case," Seth smirked,

"Pfft, whatever. Anyway, what are you planning on doing when you get there?" Sarah asked him, leaning back on one of Pringles spikes,

"I dunno, I guess I'll just tag along with you until you get to Tanaman Town," he shrugged, looking out over the soarkling waters.

"Why Tanaman Town?" Sarah asked, curious again. She wondered if it had anything to do with what she had overheard,

"It sounds nice," he said, his voice sounded distant, like he wasn't really there. Sarah quickly changed the subject, she didn't want to sit in silence the whole way to Mora,

"I hear that there's a city built into the rocks of Mount Canron," she mumbled, thinking about what that would look like,

"Yeah there is, it's built inside the mountain, the building there are carved out of the actual rock," Seth informed her, seeming to have pulled himself out of his deep thoughts,

"Wow, that sounds amazing," Sarah sighed.  
"Have you even been anywhere apart from Woodham then?" Seth sat up, looking at Sarah. She didn't seem to know much about the towns and cities of Sentas,

"Apart from Glistenport no, my mam never wanted me out of her sight," Sarah answered, "Have you ever been away from the island?" Sarah looked back at him,  
"Sort of. Hey, didn't you say you had a sister?" he replied. Sarah noticed that he changed the subject from his past again. She wondered why he did that,  
"Yeah, why?" she asked suspicously,

"Which town does she live in?"

"Why?" Sarah asked, wondering why the heck he would want to know,

"Just wondering if you would go visit her. I mean if it was Bronte I dunno if I would go visit her,"

"Okay. Well I dunno if I'll visit her or not, I'm just going to let whatever happens happen,"

After what seemed like hours, the mainland of Sentas appeared and Sarah stood up in excitement, almost falling over as she did so,

"What would you do if I pushed you in the water?" Seth smiled evilly,

"I wouldn't have to do anything, Arcane would just kill you," Sarah laughed in his face,  
"I'm sure I'll live," he laughed, then pushed her off the Lapras and into the water. She felt the salty water gushing into her mouth and started spluttering, she'd never even been in water before and didn't know how to swim-so she started panicking and flailing her arms around in a way that almost certainly didn't help her,

"You jerk, I can't swim!" she screamed, swallowing a gulp of salty water that stung the back of her throat on the way down, making her stomach churn and she started to wretch; which didn't help with her inability to swim. She heard a snort of frustration and felt herself being picked up by the back of her t-shirt by Pringle. When she was safely on the Lapras' back once more, she proceeded to lean over the edge of its shell and puke up into the water.  
"Sorry," Seth mumbled sheepishly, "I didn't know you couldn't swim,"

"Yeah well now you do," Sarah glared at him, she was soaking wet and felt ill, not to mention she had an Espeon laughing manically at her. Arcane climbed up and licked her face to try and make her feel better.

"We're nearly there anyway," Seth said,  
"Yeah, then I can start training," Sarah grinned, looking at the ever closer cliffs. When they got close enough, they jumped off Pringles back with a short goodbye then the Lapras was gone. Sarah looked up at the cliffs and growled,

"Not more climbing," she frowned,  
"No worries, there's a path here," Seth grinned and set off up the path, Psycho, Bree and Arcane sprinting ahead.  
"Just watch you don't fall off the cliff," Seth commented.

When Sarah reached Mora City, she gasped in awe at the elegant stone buildings and the intricate designs that were carved into them. People were walking around, going about their daily business without even stopping to say hi to anyone; this struck Sarah as odd-back in Woodham everyone knew everyone.  
"This is Mora City," Seth grinned,

"Wow. I never thought it would be like this," she gasped,

"You better get over it if you want to get some training done," Seth nudged her, bringing her back to her senses,

"You're right!" she cried, "Where's the nearest place to fight wild pokemon?"

"You could fight trainer battles instead-you would get alot more experience,"

"Good idea," Sarah replied and ran off in search of a trainer she could battle.

"Yeah, don't wait for me or anything-I'll be fine!" Seth yelled after her sarcastically.

On the outskirts of the city, there were alot of young trainers around, much to Sarah's joy. She ran over to the first one she saw- a young boy of about ten. She wondered why someone so young was out wth pokemon,

"Hey, how are you a pokemon trainer?" she asked, quite annoyed,

"I'm ten years old. That's the age you're supposed to become a trainer," the boy said. Sarah felt a surge of anger run through her-how come it was only on Greensand that you had to be sixteen?

"Well I want to battle you," Sarah said huffily. She was going to prove that she was a good trainer. The boy agreed and sent out his first pokemon. A Rattata. Sarah sighed-why did he have a pokemon like that? She knew that Air was now her weakest pokemon, so she sent her out to battle.

"Go Air!"

With a flash of red light Air flew out onto the battlefield, sizing up her opponent.

"Tatty, use quick-attack!" the boy yelled and the Rattata-swift and light on its feet-flew at Air, knocking her back,

"Air, use a gust!"

Flapping her wings into a frenzy, Air sent a gust of wind bellowing into the Rattata, who fell over with the impact,

"Use bite!" the boy yelled to his Rattata and the small purple rat ran to leap at Air, its huge teeth ready to sink into her soft feathers, but without any command Air flew very quickly at the rat and knocked it out of the air when it was in mid jump.

"Air, was that a quick attack?" Sarah said excitedly. In response Air used the attack again on the Rattata who fell to the ground in defeat,  
"Good job Tatty, time for Nixon to help us out now," the boy smiled and sent out a Nidorino, which Sarah automatically identified as a poison pokemon,

"Oh great, a poison pokemon," she rolled her eyes, "Air use quick-attack,"

Air flew at the Nidorino, striking his hide, but the attack wasn't strong enough to knock it back,  
"Nixon, use double-kick,"

"Air, dodge it!" Sarh cried, but Air couldn't get out of the way in time and was hit twice by the Nidorino's powerful legs,

"Air, use gust!" Sarah yelled and the Pidgey sent a whirling gust of wind at the Nidorino, who was blown back several feet and hit the ground with a cry of pain.

"It's okay buddy, get back up and use poison-sting,"

The purple pokemon cried out and leapt up at Air, its spikes grazing her badly, but Air remained healthy and airbourne,

"Quick-attack, now!" Sarah shouted, and Air once again collided with the Nidorino at an alarmng speed, knocking it out cold. He returned his pokemon with a frown on his face.

"No fair," the boy sighed, he then picked up his pokeballs and stormed off, completely in the huff.

"He can't take failure well," Sarah chuckled to herself.


	18. Rock Hard

Becoming the Best

Chapter 18

After battling and defeating all of the trainers around the outskirts, Sarah skipped back to the pokemon center, where she found Seth standing and talking to a group of people. It was getting late and she figured it would be best to get some sleep before she took on the gym leader, so she went over to the desk and booked a room.

"Seth, I'm going to sleep now. I'm going to see the gym leader in the morning," she yawned, then turned to walk away,  
"Woah, wait there! Why are you going to bed so early?" he asked,

"Seth it's ten oclock, it's been a long day and I need my energy for tomorrow," Sarah sighed. As she walked away she heard Seth muttering about the time. She found her room and collapsed onto the bed, letting her thoughts overflow. She thought about how hard the gym battle would be, then she started thinking about how many trainers had actually beaten the gym leader. Then she wondered if Kaleb had challenged the gym leader. She wondered where he actually was, if he was indeed in the city or if he had already moved on. She had thought that finding him again would just happen, she didn't realise that city's were so big and that the chances of randomly finding someone in a city were relatively small. This made her think about if she would ever actually see him again. She shook the thought out of her head and instead thought about the battle she would be facing in the morning. She was determined to win it.

"What are you going to do after the battle?" Seth asked her as they walked towards the gym.

"I'm going to the next town," Sarah answered shortly, she wanted to keep her mind on the battle, not on her future.

"What, no sight-seeing?" he said brightly,  
"What is there to see?"

"Well, people normally love to see these buildings-they say they're beautiful and everything," Seth said over dramatically-he obviously didn't find them very impressive,

"They look cool and all, but I'm not exactly going to stand and stare at buildings all day," Sarah rolled her eyes and opened the stone doors to the gym. She looked around to see rugged rocks strewn everywhere, the floor was smooth and cold with dust slightly settled over it. At the other end, she could see a woman in her early twenties lounging on a rock, her hair was dark, tied back into a bun at the nape of her neck, her clothes looked dusty; she was wearing black combats and a beige halter neck. When she noticed Sarah and Seth's presence, she jumped up and ran over to them,

"New chellengers eh? Brilliant, my pokemon could use another workout," she smirked, "Which one of you will I have to pleasure of battling?"

"That would be me," Sarah said nervously. There was something about being in the presence of a gym leader-there was an air about this person that suggested she was in another league than your normal trainer. Sarah smiled feebly at her,

"I'm Sarah,"

"Let me introduce myself then: I am Lestari, the leader of this gym! My name means everlasting-just like the power of rock types! Feel the sheer force of my pokemon as they grind you in to dust!"

And with that-the battle began.

"Gino, use rock-throw!" Lestari yelled and her Geodude picked up a rock and hurled it at Arcane, who sharply dodged it and tackled the Geodude to the floor, but it got back up without seeming too hurt.

"Try using a bite," Sarah said, wondering if the dark move would work or not,  
"Gino, tackle it!" Lestari ordered and her Geodude flung itself at Arcane, but the Growlithe stopped it in its tracks with his jaws, clamping them shut on Ginos rocky exterior. A crack echoed through the room and Arcane jumped away from Gino in shock, staring at his opponent to see what had happened. Sarah felt her eyes widen at the crack that had formed on the Geodudes skull, caused by Arcanes teeth.

"Don't worry Gino, use another rock-throw!" Lestari called.  
"Dodge it!" Sarah shouted.

Arcane ran behind his opponent, but Gino saw this and flung the rock onto the fiery dog, who buckled under the weight and crashed to the floor. He struggled to get back up, but managed and tackled the Geodude, which again didn't do much damage.

"Gino, he hasn't got much strength left, use one more rock throw!" Lestari told her pokemon, and he hurled another, much larger rock that struck Arcane sharply on the head, knocking him out cold.

"The challengers Growlithe is unable to battle," a voice resonated through the gym. Sarah stared down at Arcane, he was her strongest pokemon, what could she do now?

"Don't worry, you can still win!" Seth called in encouragement from the stands. Sarah turned to smile at him, his words spurred her on and she threw Zens pokeball onto the battlefield. She emerged with a calm look on her face, looking serenely at her opponent.

"Zen, use a tail whip," Sarah said and her eevee hopped delicately but quickly over to Gino and slammed her tail into his rocky skin,

Gino, use rock polish," Lestari called.

Gino spat on his hands and buffed himself up to help him move faster, while Zen took the opportunity to tackle him into a boulder. Gino cried out in pain and pulled himself back up with difficulty,

"Use another tail whip!" Sarah shouted at the same time Lestari called,

"Use defense curl!"

Gino curled up into a ball and Zen leapt up and brought her tail down sharply, breaking through his defense to leave him even weaker,

"Quick, use tackle now!" Sarah yelled. Zen flew into Gino with speed, knocking him to the floor and leaving him with no energy to get back up.

"Gym leader Lestari's Geodude is unable to battle," the voice said again. Sarah turned and gave Seth a thumbs up, before turning her attention back to Lestari, who was getting ready to send out her last pokemon.

"You've put up a good fight so far, but prepare to be ground into dust by my next pokemon, Oprah GO!" Lestari roared and let her pokeball fly up into the air. Sarah waited with apprehension to see what the next pokemon would be. With a flash of red light, a Cranidos appeared on the battlefield with a ferocious roar. Zen sat down and put her head on the side, inspecting this prehistoric pokemon with intrigue.

"Oprah, use focus energy,"

"Zen, use tail whip,"

Zen ran at the Cranidos, aiming to hit it with her tail, but the Canidos stepped out of her way and Zen ran into the rock behind her.

"Now use take down!" Lestari yelled, her fists clenched in anticipation. Her Cranidos charged at Zen and slammed into her, crushing her against the rock she was lying at. The pokemon backed off to see the damage it had caused and Sarah saw Zen lying there, defeated.

"The challengers Eevee is unable to battle,"

"Now Air is my only hope, she can do it. I know she can," Sarah muttered to herself.


	19. Feather and Stone

Becoming The Best

Chapter 19

"C'mon Air, show them what you've got!" Sarah practically screamed as she sent her Pidgey into the field. The Cranidos took one look at the Pidgey that was flying in front of it and burst into a fit of gravelly laughter. Anger surged through Sarah-she would show this pokemon what her Air could do!

"Air, use sand-attack!"

Air scratted at the ground, scratching the smooth slab until little bits of stone broke off and were scattered into the foes eyes, which soon stopped it from laughing.

"Okay Oprah, time to get serious. Use headbutt!" Lestari shouted, snapping her pokemon back into its battle mind. It snorted and lowered its head then ran wildly at Air,

"Use another sand-attack," Sarah said. Air repeated her attack, causing the Cranidos to bellow in anger and charge again, but it missed and ran into a boulder, cracking it. The Cranidos fell backwards, shocked by the impact,

"Air, use a quick attack," Sarah said uncertainly, she knew this battle was going to be tough, Air only had normal attacks and flying attacks-neither of which were particuarly good against rock pokemon. But she had faith in her pokemon, and she knew Air would pull through for her.

"Oprah, just wipe your eyes and use headbutt," Lestari ordered and her Cranidos obeyed. With a flurry of wings, Air was thrown from the air and onto the floor.

"Use take down now!"

Before Air could recover from the last blow, she was thrown back even further by the rock-hard head of her opponent.

"Air!" Sarah cried out in a panic, "Use a quick attack!"

Pulling herself together as much as she could, Air swiftly flew into Oprah, who just snorted and threw the bird away with his head, which sent her flying into a rock. The rock shattered on impact and dust was whisked into the air. Taking a shape intake of breath, Sarah had to stop herself from running onto the battefield to her pokemon.

Suddenly, a burst of light speared through the dust and a piercing screech filled the air. Sarah straightened up, she recognised that voice as none other than Air, but surely that last attack had beaten her, hadn't it?

Her question was answered when a Pidgeotto soared high up into the air, its wings shimmered as the dust fell from them, giving the bird a majestic, almost magical appearance.

"Air!" Sarah sqealed as she stared up at her newly evolved Pidgeotto. Admiration shone in her eyes as she watched Air fly around the field, her eyes fixed on the Cranidos below. Before either of the trainers could react, Air started flapping her wings, whipping up a twister that had a faint blue glow to it, then sent it whirling at Cranidos who got swept up inside then spat out, crashing into the wall. The Cranidos fell harshly to the ground. It was struggling to get back up when Air flew down and tackled him back to the floor.

"Oprah! C'mon you can do it!" Lestari encouraged, but everytime the Cranidos tried to get back up, Air knocked her back down until eventually the Cranidos couldn't get back up.

"Gym Leader Lestari's Cranidos is unable to battle. Lestari is out of useable pokemon. Challenger Sarah is the winner!" the voice boomed out. Sarah stood still, had she really just won? Adrenaline washed over her and she started to jump up and down and clapping her hands in excitment; she then ran over to Air and threw her arms around her pokemon, she felt like her head would literally burst with pride.

Feeling a hand on her shoulder, she turned to see Lestari standing over her with a smile on her face.

"You did it! You managed to defeat me even though your pokemon were at disadvantages. I believe you will go all the way Sarah. You earned this badge: The Granite Badge! Oh, and I'd like you to take this TM, it contains rock throw. It's a pretty powerful move you know, it's sure to come in handy some day," Lestari smiled as she spoke to Sarah, who was still shaking with excitement.

"Dude, you did it!" Sarah turned to see Seth walking over to her, grinning manically.

"I best go heal my pokemon, thanks Lestari!" Sarah nodded her head and instead of returning Air, she let her fly along with them to the pokemon center; Sarah wanted everyone to see her newly evolved Pidgeotto.

"So, apparently you can go all the way in this whole pokemon thing eh?" Seth smirked as they walked through the streets to reach the pokemon center,

"C'mon, she probably says that to every challenger that wins-it'll be some sort of gym leader code: Always tell the challenger that they are special. Or something along those lines anyway," Sarah retorted.

"Whatever, but hey! Pidgey evolved!"

"She's not called 'Pidgey' she's called Air," Sarah shoved him as they walked,

"I wonder what Blair thinks of her now,"

"We'll find out as soon as my pokemon are healed,"

A little while later, when all of Sarah's pokemon were healed, her and Seth were sitting on the outskirts of town near a patch of grass.

"Should we let them out now?"

"Yep,"

Air and Arcane were already out, Arcane was runnning around with Bree and Psycho while Air was testing out her new wings, soaring high above their heads and crying out with glee.

"C'mon out Blair," Seth said and released his Bagon. As soon as she was out, Blair starting looking about for Air, then heard her calls up in the air. Blair started stamping her feet in frustration and headbutted Sarah in attempt to get her to call Air down.

"Blair, that's not nice," Seth reprimanded, but Blair only turned around and headbutted him too.

"That little pokemon is so, funny bless her," Sarah smiled as she watched Blair stamping about,

"Please call Air down before she gets too angry," Seth pleaded. Sarah laughed and called for her pokemon, who glided down gently and perched in front of her, her eyes were shiny and bright.

"Blair wants to see you," Sarah stifled a laugh as Blair squealed in excitement when she saw Air's new form. Without warning, Blair decided to jump on Air's back and then the bird took off into the air, with the small dragon on her back. Seth stood up, staring after them with a shocked look on his face,

"Did you just see that?" he said, astounded and turned to Sarah while pointing up at the sky,

"Looks like those two get along just fine," Sarah snickered,

"Yeah. As long as Air doesn't drop her," Seth said in a worried tone, still looking at the sky.

"She's cool, she won't drop her," Sarah said absently, while she let out Zen so the Eevee could get some fresh air aswell. Zen took a good look at her surroundings, then stretched out and closed her eyes.

"Sarah," Seth said, his voice turning cold,

"What?" Sarah said, sitting up to look at him,

"Something's going on with Air," he said,

"Oh my god, what?!" Sarah cried, her head shooting upwards. A large purple pokemon was flying around the air, circling Air and Blair with a vicious look in its eye. Sarah squinted and saw that the pokemon had a trainer on its back, who pointed at Air.

Sarah screamed as the pokemon flew in to attack.


	20. Boulders and Dirt Paths

_Helloo! Thanks for still reading this. I'd like to give a shout out to define-originality for the fab reviews and great story :)_

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Becoming The Best 

Chapter 20

Looking up at the scene that was unfolding before her, Sarah fought back the urge to run around in circles screaming and pulled herself together. Air had pulled through for her in that gym battle so she was going to pull through for Air now.

"Air, fly down here now!" Sarah cried out, and her Pidgeotto nose dived to the ground; the other pokemon was starting to freak her out and she was thankful to hear her trainers voice.

"Ice fang," the voice of the strange trainer bellowed through the air and the pokemon flew after Air; ice formed on its fangs as it rocketed through the air after the Pidgeotto.  
"It's going to get Blair too!" Seth cried out in dismay. Blair however, wasn't inactive; she was leering menacingly at the attacking pokemon and baring her teeth in an attempt to scare it off. It was all in vain however and the pokemon just roared; sending an icy chill down Blairs spine. Not to be outdone, Blair roared back and jumped from Air's back, straight at the pokemon.

"Blair no! Ice hurts you!" Seth screamed, but his Bagon ignored his cries and started biting into the pokemons neck until its trainer picked her up and flung her over the side.

"BLAIR!" Seth screamed and he ran to try and catch his pokemon, but to no avail. Blair slammed into the ground with great force, knocking the breath out of her. Meanwhile, Air was getting dangerously close to the ground and Sarah was worried that she wouldn't actually stop. The trainer atop of the attacking pokemon had the same worries and pulled its pokemon up, halting the attack. Air glided gracefully over the ground and landed gently next to her trainer.

"What do you think you're doing?" Sarah fumed, marching over to the large pokemon. It landed clumsily on the ground and its trainer jumped off. Sarah was suprised at the trainers appearance: for one she was a girl. For some reason Sarah had been expecting the trainer to be a boy but apprently not. She had long blonde hair that hung down to her waist, slightly windswept from her flight atop her pokemon.

"I wanted a battle, the Pidgeotto looked weak and I thought I could take it," the girl sneered, throwing her long hair over her shoulder. Sarah stared at her, unbelieving of this girls insolence,  
"You can't just ambush a pokemon like that!" Sarah shouted,

"You're just scared because you know I could beat you," the girl laughed cruelly,

"What?! You're just cruel! You physically _threw _Blair from your pokemon at that height! That could have killed her!" Sarah screamed at the girl, anger was searing through her veins, burning her skin and making her shake.

"And I care because? Look, as long as Boulder here is okay I don't give a damn," the girl said callously. Sarah didn't know what to say, she didn't even know who this girl was, all she knew was that she really didn't like her. She then looked at the large pokemon infront of her, who was still staring menacingly at Air. Her eyes widened as she realised that it was an Aerodactyl. Those things were extremely rare and supposedly very vicious, it struck Sarah as absolutely bizarre that she was standing in front of one of those prehistoric beasts. She was brought out of her thoughts as Seth came running over, Blair stumbling along behind him, seemingly dazed. She rand straight over to Air and climbed up onto her back again, then proceeded to stare daggers at the Aerodactyl and its trainer.

"Are you some sort of freak?!" Seth spat,

"Why am I wasting my time here?" the girl sighed. She then tossed her hair back over her shoulder and climbed back onto her pokemons back,

"By the way, the name's Hazel. If you get in my way again then I won't hold Boulder back. Make no mistake-he could tear your puny little pokemon apart," Hazel laughed viciously and with another toss of her long blonde hair, she was gliding through the sky on her Aerodactyl.

"What a bitch," Sarah muttered as she watched Hazel fly away.

"I'm pretty sure you could crush her," Seth said as he glared at the speck in the distance.

"One day I will,"

Later on that day, while Seth was socialising again, Sarah decided she would pay Lestari another visit. She didn't really feel comfortable talking to a bunch of strangers like Seth did, but there was one person that she did feel comfortable talking to and she wanted to know where he was.

"Hi, what are you doing back here?" Lestari looked a bit taken aback to see Sarah back in her gym,  
"I was going to ask you something," Sarah stuttered. She felt that aura emanating from Lestari again and she couldn't help but feel a bit inferior in the presence of Lestari.

"Go ahead," the gym leader smiled.  
"Do you remember every single challenger you fight?"

"Hmm... That's a hard question. In all fairness I fight about 15 battles a day, forgive me if I can't remember your name," Lestari apologised, misinterperating Sarah's question,

"No, no it's fine I was just wondering if you remember battling a boy sometime these past few days," Sarah said,

"I fight alot of boys, can you narrow it down a bit?" the gym leader laughed,

"Oh, yeah sorry," Sarah apologised, feeling stupid, "Well he would have had a Ghastly and a Poliwag," Sarah said, hoping Lestari would recognise him,

"Oh yeah! That was a great fight. He lost the first battle but he went away and trained then the next day he came and flattened me,"

A small glimmer of hope flickered inside of Sarah, maybe she would find her old friend again now,

"Really? Do you know if he left this city already?" Sarah asked,

"I think he left yesterday. He was on his way to the next town over, Tinalt, for the next badge," Lestari told her helpfully.  
"Really? Thank you so much!" Sarah jumped up and down in excitement then threw her arms around Lestari for a second before bolting out of the door as quickly as she had come in.

"Why do you look so happy?" Seth asked suspiciously while they walked to Tinalt Town. They were walking along a dirt path, all of their pokemon were out of their pokeballs. As usual, Bree, Psycho and Arcane were running ahead while Air flew above them with Blair on her back. Zen was walking calmly by Sarah's heels, happy to go on a nice stroll.

"It's a nice day, the pokemon are all happy, I have a new badge and a newly evolved Air. Why shouldn't I be happy?" Sarah smiled. What she had failed to mention was the fact that she couldn't wait to get to Tinalt Town. She had convinced herself that she would find Kaleb there and was excited to see her old friend and show him her new team.

"I still think there's something you're not telling me," Seth narrowed his eyes in an attempt to get Sarah to spill,

"What makes you think that?"

"I've learnt how to tell when people are hiding things," he shrugged. The smile slipped from Sarahs face-what did he mean by that? She thought about asking him but then remembered the conversation she had overheard between him and the old lady-it was obviously a touchy subject.

"When will we get to Tinalt Town?" Seth said, changing the subject himself,

"I'm not sure, all I know is that we have to follow this dirt path," Sarah replied. She hadn't thought to bring along a map and she didn't have enough money for a poketch, so she had to figure out her own way around by asking for directions and just trusting her instincts. After a while, Bree, Psycho and Arcane got tired of running and started trotting along near their trainers, when Seth stopped suddenly.

"You might want to think about your directions again," Seth muttered. Sarah looked at him puzzled,

"What do you mean?"

"The path has stopped," he said, pointing at the ground. Looking down, Sarah realised that he was right and somehow they had managed to lose the path.

* * *

_I'd also like to say thanks to everyone who added this story to their favourites and alerts, and also to Silver Don for the great reviews :)_


	21. You Shouldn't Anger Pokemon

Becoming The Best

Chapter 21

"Are you kidding me?" Sarah sighed, looking around. On one side, trees were densely packed together forming a deep, dark forest and on the other was a grass plain that stretched for miles. In front of them there was just dry grass as far as the eye could see and behind them was the same.

"In all fairness all we'll have to do is come back the way we came," Seth shrugged and he turned to walk back when something came barreling through the trees and landed in front of him with a bump. Seth jumped back in suprise as he looked at the pokemon in front of him,

"Gah! Blair, use bite!" he cried out, pointing at the small and rather fat pokemon that was sitting infront of him. The pokemon took one look at the charging dragon, leapt up and ran behind Seth's feet, then pointed at the trees, squealing.

"What the heck is it saying and what the heck is it?" Sarah said, screwing her face up in confusion,

"It's a Bidoof. And it looks scared. Blair, don't attack it," Seth said, calming down. He knelt down to talk to the Bidoof, but as he did so another pokemon came charging out of the trees with an angry cry, then turned on the Bidoof.

"Urgh, now I know what that one is. I hate Raticates," Sarah rolled her eyes at the oversized rat. It bared its huge fangs at the Bidoof and ran to attack but Blair stood in the way and tackled the Raticate to the ground. It sprang back onto its feet and jumped at Blair, chomping down on her head,

"Blair, run into a tree!" Seth called to his pokemon. The Raticate was flung to the side as Blair tipped her head on the side; wondering what on earth her trainer was playing at. She then decided that if running into a tree would end the pain that the Raticate's teeth was causing, she would do it She ran headfirst into the nearest tree and the Raticate let out a squeal of pain and let go of Blair,

"Use bite!" Seth said and Blair grinned at the Raticate, pleased that she would be getting her own back. She jumped into the air with her mouth wide open and closed it shut on the Raticates head, to show it how much it hurt. The Raticate once again squealed in pain and started thrashing about, but Blair only chomped down harder, until the Raticate stopped moving. Letting go of the rat pokemon, Blair started stamping her feet with a grin on her face, pleased with her victory. As soon as the Raticate had stopped moving, the Bidoof crept out from behind Seth and sniffed it, to make sure it wouldn't jump back up and attack again. When the Bidoof realised it wouldn't be getting back up anytime soon, it closed its eyes and started to wag its tail in excitement, which made its backside wiggle insanely.

"What's up with the Bidoof?" Sarah asked, raising her eyebrows at the wiggling creature,

"I have no idea. Maybe if we just walk away it'll go back to whatever it was doing," Seth mumbled and started edge away from the small brown pokemon. Zen however, had other ideas. She was intrigued by the wiggling creature and started sniffing at it. The Bidoof then opened its eyes and was shocked to see the face of a strange pokemon sniffing at it. Without warning, the Bidoof opened its mouth and its teeth glowed with a yellow colour and they closed around Zens hide. She closed her eyes with the pain and with a fluent movement she was out of the jaws of the now angry Bidoof. In a swift movement, she ran into the Bidoof and knocked it to the floor.

"Zen, what are you doing?" Sarah said in exasperation. Zen turned her head to look at her trainer, but regretted it when a brown head rammed into her. Sarah realised that Zen would probably need her right then, so she sighed and started giving her advice,

"Okay Zen ca-" Sarah stopped herself, she was about to tell Zen to calm down but then realised she was already relaxed,

"Oh. Well just use quick attack again," Sarah said. Zen flew at the Bidoof, knocking it down onto the grass, but it lumbered back up and used rollout, and Zen fell to the ground as it shook under her and earth got shot at her, shooting up from the ground. Zen stood up and stared at the Bidoof before growling in a pathetic sounding way. The Bidoof thought twice about attacking-could it really bring itself to attacking a pokemon that sounded so pathetic? Its question was answered when the Eevee took the chance to hurl herself at the Bidoof. It got thrown against a tree, which caused a Weedle to fall into the middle of the battle. Sarah rolled her eyes as she recognised the oozing purple liquid that was dripping from the Weedle's stinger as it glowered at Zen.

Poison.

"Not a poison dude again," Sarah groaned.

"What's wrong with poison pokemon?" Seth asked from a safe distance,

"Now's not the time," Sarah snapped, "Zen use sand-attack then tackle!"

Zen blew dust into the eyes of her foes, then tackled the Weedle, who then collided with the Bidoof. The Bidoof then fell to the floor and didn't get up. Zen turned her attention to the small Weedle.

"Use tackle again,"

Zen ran at the small Weedle and knocked it out cold straight away. Zen looked suprised for a second and shot a disbelieving look at Sarah, before simply smiling and reverting to her usual calm self.

"That Weedle was pitiful," Seth shook his head at the weakness of the small pokemon who was lying on the floor.

"Hey, don't pity the poison pokemon!" Sarah snapped, shivering as she looked at the Weedles stinger.

"What's wrong with poison pokemon?" Seth asked her,

"They keep trying to kill me," Sarah said, laughing a bit as she realised how pathetic that must have sounded. Before Seth could answer however, the trees rustled once again and a Beedril emerged, looking furious. It took one look at the Weedle that was lying at Sarahs feet and flew at her, its huge stingers ready for attack.

"This is why you shouldn't make pokemon angry," Seth laughed, not realising the danger.

All of Sarah's pokemon surged forward to attack the Beedril, but Zen got to it first. She barraged it with attacks until it flew back into the forest as if it were limping. Sarah gave a sigh of relief and started to turn to talk to Seth, but a shining light caught her attention. She looked at Zen-a purple light had enveloped her.

"Looks like Zen is evolving," Seth smiled.


	22. The 22nd Chapter, YEY!

_Yey! The 22nd Chapter! 22 is an amazingly cool number :D _

_Thanks for still reading this far on aswell :)_

Chapter 22

"What? No! No I don't want her to!" Sarah screamed in panic. She didn't want Zen to evolve yet-she had already decided what form she had wanted Zen to evolve into-and it wasn't an Espeon.

"You don't want her to?" Seth asked with disbelief,

"No of course I don't! What do I do?" she said as fast as she could-Zen was already starting to grow,

"You just press the B button," Seth said. Sarah screamed in frustration, the light was now starting to fade and Sarah was worried she would end up with an Espeon.

"What the heck does that mean?" she roared at Seth, who took a step back.

"You just press the B button on your pokedex," he replied. As quick as she could, Sarah flipped out her pokedex and closed her eyes whilst mashing the B button, hoping beyond anything that she had pressed it in time.

A small furry head nudged her leg. Sarah still had her eyes pressed closed, she was too scared to open them incase an Espeon was looking back.

"Sarah, you're going to have to open your eyes sooner or later," Seth laughed. With a sigh, Sarah opened her eyes apprehensively and looked down at her legs. A furry orange face looked up at her with its tongue hanging out. Sarah burst out laughing, despite her fears,

"I seriously thought Zen had evolved into a Growlithe there," she giggled, then pulled herself together and looked over at Zen. She was stretched out on the grass, her big brown eyes stared back at Sarah peacefully. Her brown fur shone in the sun and her tail wagged slightly as she stared up at her trainer.

"Zen!" Sarah sqealed and she ran over to her Eevee and gave her a big hug. She felt two paws on her back and a whining sound filled her ears. She turned around to see Arcane with his head cocked to the side and his ears back, he was also wanting a hug.

"Aww, c'mere! You too Air!" She was knocked to the floor as all her pokemon leapt onto her to give her a big hug. She laughed to herself as she felt a happiness wash over her.

_This is what being a trainer is all about right here. The love of your team._

Sarah thought as she was surrounded by her beloved pokemon.

A few hours later and Seth and Sarah arrived at Tinalt Town tired and hungry. As soon as they reached the pokemon centre, they booked their rooms then sat down for a meal.

"This tastes really nice." Sarah said in between forkfuls of pasta,

"I know right?" Seth replied with his mouth full. Sarah looked at him with disdain as pasta sauce was spat over the table,

"Don't talk with your mouth full," she reprimanded. Seth didn't answer however, he just stuffed more food in his mouth while Sarah rolled her eyes. Their pokemon were sitting around them with bowls of pokemon food, eating happily. Suddenly, Seth put his fork down and stopped eating abrubtly and stared at something. Sarah looked in the direction he was staring and screwed up her face as she searched the crowd. There was just people-no one that particuarly stood out to her.

"I need to go do some stuff," he muttered, then walked through the crowd of people in the pokecenter cafe, soon Sarah lost sight of him. His two pokemon looked at eachother with unreadable expressions then slipped through the crowd after their trainer. A frown crossed Sarah's face as she wondered what he was doing. The thought crossed her head to follow him, but she then thought better of the idea. As she sat there, she felt like a bit of a loner. Looking around she saw that most of the people seemed to be in groups of two or more-training by yourself must be pretty boring.

"Oh! I just remembered, I have something I need to do before tomorrow," Sarah sighed. The last thing she wanted to do at that minute was to go out to the town to buy something in the undoubtedly crowded shops, but she had decided on battling the gym leader of Tinalt the next day and she wanted this item before she battled. With a groan she stood up and stretched, her joints were aching and her leg and wrist were still sore from her fall down the valley. She had to fight back the urge to crawl back to her room and sleep and instead she recalled all her pokemon (apart from Arcane) then wandered out into the town.

After she had toiled up the stairs of a large department store, Sarah sat down on the floor and sighed. She hadn't realised there was an elevator until she had climbed 4 flights of stairs. Looking around she realised she was on a floor dedicated to clothing. Definately not where she wanted to be. She was beginning to think she should have just gone to bed and searched the store tomorrow until she saw a flash of black hair. She immediately stood up, her eyes widening as a stab of hope shot through her. Setting off at a run (which wasn't very fast since she wasn't good at running), she dodged rails of clothes until she ran straight into the person she had been pursuing, making her fall backwards onto the floor. Groaning, she realised she had just humiliated herself infront of a total stranger.

"Sorry," she mumbled, pulling herself up onto her feet.

"No worries," the boy replied, then walked off. Sarah was left there, feeling rather disappointed. She had really thought that kid had been Kaleb and the fact that he wasn't had just made her feel a bit sad.

"C'mon Arcane, let's just go back to the center," Sarah frowned. Deciding to take the sensible option of the elevator this time, she trudged over to it. She thought about how much Kalbe been in her mind recently. She really did miss him but she knew she would have to get over the fact that she would probably not see him for a very very long time. Turning that thought over and over again in her mind-she tried to come to terms to it. But it wouldn't happen. She couldn't think about what it would be like to never see her best friend again. She shut her eyes to try and make herself comprehend that thought when the elevator stopped at the next stop. Arcane started to bark madly and Sarah snapped her eyes open to see what was happening.

An overwhelming sense of happiness flooded over her and she squealed in delight, before jumping on the person that was standing in front of her.

"I can't believe I found you again!" she practically screamed into her friends ear.

"What the- Sarah!"

Sarah felt her feet touch the floor again and she stared at Kaleb. His emerald eyes stood out against his raven hair, and Sarah noticed how structured his jawline looked. It also looked like travelling had made him more muscly. Sarah shook her head; Kaleb was her friend, nothing more. She grinned again when she remembered that he was actually there, then flung her arms around him again.

"Oh my god, you're going to have to see my team now! OOO, I know, we can have a battle!" Sarah enthused, her fatigue was instantly erased and she felt invigorated after seeing her best friend again.

"Woah, woah slow down," Kaleb laughed, pushing Sarah away but still holding her by the arms, and looked at her, "How the heck did you get here?"

"Well it's quite a story," Sarah grinned.

A few more hours later-at about ten oclock, Sarah was sitting at a table with Kaleb and she had explained to him how she ended up at Tinalt; every little detail she remembered she had told him. Her story was told in a very high pitched voice, interjected with lots of "oo's" when she remembered something she thought he should know. After the story was over, Kaleb leaned back and let out a big sigh.

"Why did I even think I could stop you?" he shook his head, his hair fell over his face and his expression was unreadable,

"You should see my leg!" Sarah squealed again and rolled up her jean to show him the long gash on her leg that had now healed up into what looked like a scratch.

"I told you you would kill yourself," Kaleb laughed. He had nearly forgotten how spontaneous conversation with his best friend could be, she would just say the most random things that popped into her head.

"I know right? But seriously, we need a battle!"

"A battle? It's a bit late for that now, what about in the morning?"

"The morning it is then!" Sarah beamed.

* * *

Becoming The Best


	23. Double Bubble

_Note: I'm not sure if people in the pokemon world actually know what elephants are, but for the sake of this, they do. Also, I know that Umbreons don't know the move bite; but I genuinely think that they should, so Bree knows how to bite in this chapter._

Thanks for reading :)

* * *

Becoming The Best

Chapter 23

Sarah went to bed really excited that night-she couldn't wait until the morning. Then she remembered Seth. She hadn't seen him all night, not since he walked off in the pokecafe. She wondered again what he had been up to. The look on his face had been... Odd. There was a secret in his past-something he wanted to keep hidden-that much Sarah was sure of. A small snoring sound could be heard and Sarah smiled-Arcane had always snored and by now it was like a night light, bringing her comfort and the feeling of security. Sleep fell over her and dreams of her team battling and playing drifted in and out, alongside the travels that were sure to come with her friends. Sarah slept with a smile on her face that night.

"Yes! How cool is that?" Sarah yelled in a high pitched manner,

"Erm... I'm guessing very?" Seth said, raising his shoulders. He didn't particuarly find Sarah's story of finding that kid again as interesting as Sarah obviously found it,

"Yes! I know right? Come on, I need to battle him today," and with that she grabbed his arm and dragged him outside before standing still to think.

"Hmm, well I guess I didn't tell him where I would meet him," she muttered to herself,

"What about the gym battle?" Seth asked her, in hope of snapping her out of this hyper mood she was in,

"Well that can wait, duh! Anyway, battling Kaleb will be extra training for my pokemon," Sarah grinned, before looking around again.

"Or extra training for his," Seth mutteres in response. Sarah ignored his comment and continued looking around, until she saw Kaleb walking towards them.

"Kaleb!" Sarah squealed and proceeded to throw her arms around him again,  
"Look, this is Seth," she said, standing back and jumping up and down on the spot in excitement. Seth gave her a strange look then shook hands with Kaleb.

"How did you put up with her for so long?" Seth muttered to him. Sarah brushed the comment off and took a pokeball in her hand.

"Time for that battle," she smiled.

"I'll show you my new pokemon, go Ellie!" Kaleb smiled as he tossed a pokeball into the air. With a flash of red light a small elephant appeared on the scene, making a snorting noise with her trunk. Seth burst out laughing as soon as the Phanphy appeared, making Sarah and Kaleb turned their heads to look at him,

"What's so funny?" Kaleb glared at him, thinking he was making fun of his pokemon,

"You're as bad at naming pokemon than Sarah!" Seth laughed and pointed at him while leaning over with the laughter,

"How is Ellie a bad name?" Kaleb frowned, turning his whole body over to glare at Seth,

"Ellie, because she's an elephant. It's just so... Funny," Seth spluttered on the last word, not knowing what else to say,

"You dissing my pokemon?" Kaleb took a step towards Seth and his Phanphy stared at Seth and his pokemon,  
"Who wouldn't with a name like Ellie," Seth sniggered, trying to stop laughing but failing at it. Kaleb cried out in anger and Ellie thundered towards Psycho and Bree, who were sitting beside eachother. The elephant pokemon slammed into the two Eeveelutions, sending them sprawling across the floor. Seth immediately sobered up and stood up straight,

"Hey, what was that for?" he cried out, as Psycho leapt up with a yowl, ready to attack.

"You were insulting Ellie," Kaleb snarled,

"What about my fight?" Sarah said in exasperation,

"Forget about your battle, looks like that stupid little cat wants a fight," Kaleb narrowed his eyes at Psycho, who was approaching Ellie, ready to pounce when all of a sudden Bree was upon the Phanphy, striking Ellie's side with her tail.

"That's what you get for calling her brother stupid!" Seth shouted, proud of his two pokemon.

"If it's a double battle you want then fine," Kaleb said and took out another pokeball.

"WHAT ABOUT MY BATTLE?" Sarah screamed, but Hotch the Ghastly was already out, the battle was underway so Sarah simply got ignored. She groaned and slumped down onto the ground. Arcane looked up at her and rolled his eyes, making Sarah laugh. She then turned to watch the battle.

"Hotch, use confuse ray on the dark one!" Kaleb yelled. Hotch flew into action and sent a wiggling ray of energy at Bree, who tried to dodge but got caught in the hide, making her spiral out of control and start chewing on her own leg.

"Oh yeah? Well Psycho use confusion on the ugly one!" Seth smirked as his Espeon attacked Hotch with a psychic attack.

"Stupid kid, having to resort to insults! Ellie, use rollout!"

Ellie responded by shoving her trunk deep in the ground then lashing it out at great speed, which made a ribbon of earth shoot out along the ground, aimed at Psycho. Before it could hit her however, Psycho had already hit Hotch with the confusion attack and hurting the Ghastly alot.

"Use lick on the Espeon, Ellie you use take down on the Umbreon!" Kaleb shouted and his pokemon did as they were instructed. Seth roared in frustration as his pokemon were beaten back and he was unable to help them.

"BREE SNAP OUT OF IT!" he yelled. His voice seemed to penetrate the haze that had muffled Bree's thoughts and she looked up at the gaseous face that was looming over her. With quick thinking, she used pursuit, which was super effective, knocking out the Ghastly on impact. Kaleb looked crestfallen as he returned his Ghastly.

"Okay. Go Polo!" he tossed another pokeball into the field and Sarah smiled, expecting to see the small and rather dopey Poliwag to start bobbing about. Instead, a large Poliwhirl stood there, waving at Sarah when it saw her.

"Polo, use body slam!" Kaleb said, pointing at Psycho, who was bombarding Ellie with quick attacks. The Espeon was caught off guard and flung carelessly to the floor where he lay umoving.

"Psycho, you did really well," Seth smiled, then released Blair into the fight. The small dragon looked around momentarily, expecting to see Air but instead she was shot at with a powerful bubblebeam. Absolutely outraged at the sudden attack, she stamped her feet and turned to Polo, who was by then doing cartwheels across the grass. Sarah laughed as she realised that Polo was still a bit dim witted-she wouldn't be messing around while and angry Blair was about to attack. Lowering her head, Blair felt a power course through her and she charged at the Poliwhirl headfirst, slamming Polo to the ground with the force. Polo stood up, looking shocked. She brushed herself down with her hands then shot another bubblebeam at Blair, who responded by angrily headbutting her again. This went on for sometime until Polo used double-slap; however this only infuriated Blair even more and all of a sudden a burst of flames flared out of her mouth, straight at Polo. Polo withstood the ember attack with ease, and stared at Blair before launching another bubblebeam. Blair knew she was going to go down as the attack hit and she simply smiled as the world around her grew faint.

Meanwhile Ellie and Bree were fighting ferociously, trading slams and quick attacks until Bree was thrown to the floor. The Umbreon got back onto her feet dramatically, dust clouding around her. She looked exhausted but a fire was in her eye. With a last cry, she ran at Ellie, gaining speed as she went. When she was close enough, she leapt in the air and came down hard on the Phanphy, closing her jaws around the small pokemon, who buckled under the attack.

Polo and Bree stood facing eachother, both exhausted and both breathing heavily. They stared into eachothers eyes, each waiting for the other to make the first attack. Their trainers were both shouting commands, but both pokemon had blocked the world out, concentrating on their opponent. Bree's paws padded across the grass as she started to circle, Polo doing the same. Their eyes were locked, never looking away, never getting distracted. Then, at the exact same time-they both jumped at eachother.


	24. Flying Fiasco

Becoming The Best

Chapter 24

Bree howled as she slammed into Polo, whose large body reflected her and she was thrown to the ground. Before she could get up however, Polo landed on top of her and she felt the wind being knocked out of her. She lay there momentarily, while Polo stood up and started doing feeble handstands, apparently celebrating her premature victory. Bree had other ideas. Using her last ounce of strength, Bree used a tackle and Polo cried out in pain as she hit the floor.

"No way! That is so unfair!" Kaleb said as he returned Polo to her pokeball.

"Shouldn't have attacked me then should you?" Seth smirked in retaliation, stroking Bree's head with pride,"Anyway, there's no way you could defeat my pokemon, they're too awesome,"

"Guys! Stop it!" Sarah interrupted. She stood up and stretched her legs.  
"He started it," Seth muttered as he stood up, kicking the ground like a little kid,

"You dissed my pokemon!" Kaleb cried, pointing at Seth in anger.

"You're just a dumb kid," Seth muttered as he crossed him arms and looked away with a bored expression,

"Seth, he's the same age as you," Sarah said, getting sick of their arguments. She was starting to think that finding Kaleb had been a bad thing.

"Let's just go heal your pokemon," Sarah rolled her eyes when she was met with silence and she started walking towards the pokecentre.

"Actually, I need to go to the store, you guys go ahead to the pokecentre," she spun on her heel and walked off to the store again. Kaleb looked after her, wondering what on earth would be so important that she would leave him with Seth. Seth stared balefully at Kaleb, he really didn't like him.

"I'm going to the centre," Seth muttered, then walked off to heal his pokemon. A few minutes later, Kaleb stood beside him, glowering at him.

"What do you want?" Seth glared back at him,

"What's the deal with you and Sarah?" Kaleb asked in a low voice,

"What the heck are you talking about?" Seth turned around and spread his arms across the desk, getting annoyed with this Kaleb kid already.

"A girl and a boy travelling alone... Look let's cut to the chase. If I find out you've done anything with her I will personally kill you," Kaleb moved so that he was standing directly infront of Seth, staring at him menacingly.

"Are you serious?" Seth asked, his face was disbelieving, then the ridiculousness of what he was saying set in and he started to laugh. Kaleb narrowed his eyes at him then walked off, leaving Seth at the desk.

* * *

"Seth!"

Hearing his name being called from across the room, he spun around to see Sarah walking across the room, Arcane bounding along after her. He quickly averted her gaze, the conversation he had with Kaleb a while ago was still fresh in his mind,

"Where's Kaleb gone?" she asked brightly,

"I dunno," Seth said flatly.

"Why don't you like him?" she snapped suddenly.

"Huh?"

"You two, you just argued and then battled and it's just like... Why? What is it with guys having to size eachother up?" Sarah said in frustration, her eyebrows raised and she was moving her hands while she talked. Seth looked at her in confusion, he just didn't like that other kid.

"I just don't like him," Seth shrugged.

"No. I've seen Kaleb like that before-he does that when he feels like he has something to prove," Sarah said matter of factly,

"Doesn't that mean he has the problem? Not me," he answered,

"No. It means you both have a problem," Sarah told him. She sighed and looked around in exasperation.

"Anyway. I'm going to battle the gym now," she said, brightening up again. With that, she bounced off out the door to face the next gym leader.

"Girls are weird," Seth muttered.

* * *

As she opened the doors of the gym, Sarah felt strangely lonely. She became aware of the fact that she didn't have anybody to support her this time, when a nudge from Arcane reminded her that she had the support of her team. A smile crept onto her face as she thought how easily she could win this battle. Looking around, she noticed the extremely high ceiling and the numerous platforms that were of varying heights dotted around. She approached the gym leader with somewhat more confidence than she had faced Lestari, but she still felt rather meek compared to the grandness that this leader seemed to emit. As she walked forward, Sarah took in his appearance. He had long blonde hair that flowed like honey down his back, looking as light as a feather.  
"Good morning young woman. Whom am I having the honour of battling today?" he said in a grand tone,

"My name is Sarah. Nice to meet you sir," Sarah replied and for some reason she felt the need to curtsey to him.

"No need for formalities, my name is Aquilo and my pokemon are masters of the wind. Feel the rush of adrenaline as they sweep your pokemon off their feet!"

With a flash of red light, a Pidgeeotto appeared on the battlefield, flapping its wings impatiently.

_I bet Air could defeat this thing. _Sarah thought, looking the impatient creature up and down. Wanting to prove that her own bird would be just as good as Aquilo's, she sent Air out.

"Oh, feather against feather? This shall be an interesting challenge. Datollo, use twister!" Aquilo ordered, and his pokemon whipped up a blue tinted twister that slammed straight into Air, knocking her down to the ground.

"We can give as good as we get Air, use twister!" Sarah shouted. Air rose back up in a graceful manner and her wings flapped until a blue twister, much like the one Datollo had whipped up, formed at her wingtips. With a trilling cry, she blew it back at the opposing Pidgeotto, who was flung against a high platform then hit the floor painfully.

"Quick attack," Sarah said. Air flew down and collided with Datollo, hurting the bird pokemon even more.

"Datollo, get up and use gust!" Aquilo cried. His Pidgeotto struggled up into the air and landed atop one of the platforms before sending a well aimed gust at Air, that struck her in the chest. Sprawling about in the air, Air caught herself just in time, narrowly missing crashing into a column supporting one of the platforms. Datollo was still sitting on the platform, looking much worse for the wear; his breathing was heavy and his wings looked injured.

"Quick, use another twister," Sarah grinned. Air did as she was told and Datollo was sent flying from the platform, crashing into another column before hitting the floor again. He didn't get back up.

"You win that round, however can you really withstand the power of my Skarmory? Scar, GO!" Aquilo yelled theatrically, throwing his next pokeball high up into the air and it exploded with a loud screech that made Sarah's hair stand on end.

"Use fury attack!" Aquila yelled, and before Air could react; the large steel bird was upon her, slashing at her soft body with her razor like feathers. The attack was too much for Air, who spiralled to the ground; gracefull even in defeat.

"You did great Air," Sarah whispered to her pokeball. She then glanced up at the vicious steel bird who was circling the arena like a vulture circling its prey.

"Arcane, I think you should do this," Sarah said, and Arcane leapt forward, happy for some real competition again. He surveyed his surroundings-the platforms would either make it much easier or much harder for him.

"Arcane, shoot an ember at him," Sarah said. Arcane opened his mouth and sent fires at the Skarmory, however since it was flying so high, it easily dodged them before it was hit.

"That is the advantage of my flying friends, you cannot hit them!" Aquilo laughed, flourishing his long cape as he spoke,

"Scar, use air-cutter!"

The Skarmory dove down at Arcane and Sarah saw her chance.

"Arcane, jump on his back and launch yourself up onto one of those platforms," Sarah told Arcane just as Scar was about to rip into him. Arcane was light on his feet and was soon up in the air; once he had found his way onto the first platform, getting to the others was just a few high jumps. Without any direction from his trainer, Arcane started to breathe flames, surrounding his entire body with fire. Scar was barreling towards him, closing in for another air-cutter, when Arcane vaulted off the platform, heading straight for the incoming bird. The flames spiralled around his body, almost pulsing through him and he collided in the air with Scar. The steel bird was knocked out of the air, the flames rose his temperature to an uncomfortable degree.

"Scar! Use swift quickly!" Aquila yelled. Arcane was still falling through the air, about to land on a platform, but a barrage of sharp stars sliced into him, knocking him off course and sailing towards the floor.

"Now, use air-cutter again!" Scar kicked himself off and soared through the air, heading straight for Arcane. The orange dog didn't want to be put out so easily, and he started to spin fire around himself again, hoping that the fire would damage the steel bird. It didn't do much luck though, Scar's attack was too quick for the fire to do any damage, and Arcane was carelessly tossed to the floor after being slashed by Scar's razor sharp feathers. His body hit the floor with a thud, and Arcane lay there, out cold. At that moment, the door to the gym opened and all heads turned to see who was there. Seth sauntered through and took a seat at the side, acting as if he hadn't just interrupted a heated battle between leader and challenger. No one made any move for a few minutes and Seth realised they were both staring at him.

"Don't let me stop you, go on. Battle," he said, shaking his hands towards the arena.

"Yes, let us forget our new found audience, the show must go on!" Aquila motioned grandly towards Sarah's remaining pokeball and she took it in her hand.

"This is it. It's up to you Zen," she said lightly, then tossed the pokeball across the arena, and Zen appeared in a flash of red light.

Seth stood up in the stands with utter disbelief at what he saw.

"Sarah, what did you do?" he gasped.


	25. A Shocking Suprise

Becoming The Best

Chapter 25

Zen stood calmly on the ground, gazing pleasntly up at the Skarmory circling above her, her large almond shaped, black eyes full of peace. Despite her calm disposition, her yellow fur started to crackle with electricity, ready to unleash her shocking power upon the circling bird.

"Why, this battle just got a whole lot more exhilarating," Aquilo grinned.

"It got a whole lot harder for you though," Sarah smirked, a half smile crept onto her face.

"I shall be the judge of that, let the show begin!"

"Zen, use thundershock," Sarah yelled. Zen looked up at Scar and her fur stood up with static, then unleashed it in a bolt of electric energy towards Scar.

"Dodge it quick!" Aquilo shouted, but Scar was not fast enough and the shock jolted him out of the air, onto the ground.

"Quick, use sand-attack," Sarah said, and Zen sent earth scattering at Scar, who just flew at Zen with a fury-attack,

"Hazaar! Scar has keen-eye, that move will do no harm to my bird!" Aquilo laughed triumphantly as Scar tore into Zen,

"Zen, use thundershock right now!" Sarah yelled. Electricity coursed through Zen's veins, and the power exploded into Scar, who was thrown back vicously, the shock of the electricity had impacted him harshly and he didn't get back up from where he lay.

"I congratulate you my friend, you put on a fine show and I wish you luck on your travels," Aquilo bowed low then presented Sarah with the Aquilos badge, when Seth came walking over.

"What the heck was that?" he asked incredulously,

"That was Zen being amazing," Sarah grinned, then knelt down to stroke Zen, who was sitting next to Sarah calmly.

"Yeah but... You evolved her! Why?"

"Because I love Jolteon, they're so awesome!" Sarah enthused, gazing down affectionately at Zen.

"She had so much potential," Seth shook his head,

"What is that supposed to mean?" Sarah cried indignantly, standing up and crossing her arms,

"C'mon, a Jolteon? She could have been and amazing Umbreon or Espeon," he said,

"No. Because Jolteon are obviously the best," Sarah said stubbornly.

"Okay if you say so," Seth rolled his eyes, but broke out into a grin,  
"You won the badge though,"

"You bet I did," Sarah smiled back,

In the center of the town, Sarah was lying in the middle of a big green park, Seth was sitting on a bench nearby and their pokemon were all out. As usual, Blair was running along after Air, trying to catch her tail as she soared along low to the ground. Arcane was sniffing about, searching everything and chasing the odd Rattata. Bree and Psycho were sitting close to Seth, they seemed oddly reserved and tired. Zen was, as always, sitting close to Sarah, he head resting on Sarah's stomach. She closed her eyes and relaxed, almost falling asleep until she heard Seth groan.

"What's up?" she asked, her eyes still closed,

"That kid's coming over," he grunted. Sarah sighed and sat up, patting Zen's head as she did so, then looked over to see Kaleb walking over to them.

"Hey," he said sullenly, then sat down on the bench next to Seth, eying him suspiciously. Seth rolled his head back,

"Why do you have to sit there?" he whined,

"Coz' I want to. Is there a problem with that?" he growled,

"What do you think?" Seth retorted. Sarah didn't even attempt to stop them from arguing and instead flopped back down on the grass, closing her eyes again. She heard the two guys bickering behind her but tried to zone them out, when she heard a flapping of leathery wings above her. She opened her eyes to see a disturbingly familiar purple pokemon landing next to her.

Standing up, Sarah glared at hazel as she dismounted her Aerodactyl, with no grace whatsoever. Kaleb came walking over to Sarah's side as he saw the blonde girl exchange glances with Sarah,  
"Woah, who is she? She's pretty hot," he commented to Sarah, resulting in a crippling blow to the stomach,

"What was that for?" he rasped, hunching over and clutching his stomach. Sarah didn't answer him and continued to glare at Hazel.

"I see you found yourself a better friend. He looks so much better than that other

twerp you were travelling with. Although, I don't know why anyone would want to travel with _you_," she said, holding her chin up high, as if she were better than her. Sarah felt anger rising up inside of her and clenched her fists in frustration,  
"There is nothing wrong with Seth, thank you very much," Sarah said, her voice was stilited as she tried to keep her tone even.

"Yeah, and if you insult me again I'll punch you," Seth spat as he walked over, but a dark look from Boulder the Aerodactyl made him shut up quickly.

"You wouldn't touch me," Hazel challenged. Seth glared at her, but wouldn't make a move-there was no way he could punch a girl.

"He mightn't but I would," Sarah raised an eyebrow at the girl in front of her. They stared at eachother for a few minutes, neither wanting to look away. Eventually, Kaleb stood up, recovering from the blow and standing in between each female.

"Is it just me or is there some tension here?" he asked, oblivious to the complete hatred that was emanating from both parties.

"Just a little," Sarah said through gritted teeth. Hazel flicked her blonde hair over her shoulder and pointed at Sarah.

"I challenge you to a battle!" she demanded.

Sarah stood for a moment, staring at Hazel in astonishment, before she started to laugh; she wasn't quite sure why but she was laughing all the same.

"What's so funny?" Kaleb said, sounding stupid as he looked back and forth between Hazel and Sarah.

"Yeah, what _is _so funny?" Hazel narrowed her eyes and put her hands on her hips, glaring at Sarah.

"It's just. Do you seriously want to battle me? I don't even _like _you," Sarah said, calming down and looking back at Hazel.

"I don't like you either, but that has nothing to do with not battling. You're just too scared of losing,"

"Losing. To you? As if," Sarah brushed the comment off like it was nothing, but Hazel pursued,

"Yes, you know you'll lose because you're just a pathetic little trainer, there's no way you'd be able to beat me," she sneered. Sarah felt her eyes narrow at Hazel and she felt her muscles tense up and she instinctively leaned forward, as if to intimidate Hazel.

"Fine. Let's battle," she snarled.

* * *

_Note: Zen was going to be a Jolteon ever since ever-they're the best eeveelutions imo :)_


	26. Lashing Out

Becoming The Best

Chapter 26

Hazel smirked and walked quite far away to create a make-shift battlefield for the pokemon.  
"Boulder, you're up," she said, and her Aerodactyl stomped forward to glare at Sarah.

"I choose you Zen!" Sarah cried, and Zen sauntered calmly onto the field, meeting Boulder's menacing glare with a calm stare, totally unfazed by the vicious pokemon infront of her.

"Boulder, use ice-fang!" Hazel ordered. Boulder rose up into the air, his wings beating heavily as he opened his mouth, ice forming around his fangs. However, Zen was too quick and ducked behind him then let out a thundershock.

"Boulder, don't just hover around-use bite," Hazel called out. The Aerodactyl swivelled around in the air and his huge teeth clamped down on Zen's body, which resulted in her letting loose a strong electric attack, which blasted Boulder into a nearby stone statue, shattering it into shards of stone. Other visitors to the park gasped in shock, then gathered around to watch the battle,

"Good job Zen, now use tail whip,"

Zen jumoed forward and slammed her tail into Boulder,

"You don't have to stand for this, use ancient power!" Hazel snarled. Boulder bellowed ferociously, his voice reverbrating throughout the city and rocks dislodges from the earth, hovering menacingly in the air. Zen took it all in, her calm eyes darting back and forth between each rock until Boulder roared once again and they all barrelled through the air towards her. Light on her feet, she dodged in and out until she felt an intense pressure crash down on her back and pain shot through her body.

"Zen!" Sarah cried out. The Jolteon held her breath as many more rocks started smashing down on top of her, the pain became so intense that she could hardly bear it. But she just closed her eyes and let the pain consume her, until she exploded with electricity- sparks flew everywhere; as if she was forcing the pain out of herself. Boulder screeched in pain as the shocking power crackled over him; sharp pain shot through his wings and he collapsed to the floor, unable to move.

"Boulder!" Hazel screamed, running over to the large body of her Aerodactyl.

"You, you stupid ugly little thing! You will _not _win this!" she turned on Sarah, anger burning in her eyes as she returned Boulder to his pokeball.

"Pebble, GO!" she screeched. Sarah took a step back-she hadn't expected Hazel to have another pokemon for some reason. Her eyes widened as a Kabuto lay on the ground, looking absoluteely tiny compared to the monster that had just been battling. A few of the gathered trainers snickered at the tiny pokemon, but Sarah raised her eyebrows. Just how many fossil pokemon did this girl have? Then she realised that this pokemon also had a great weakness to electrcity and a smile broke out onto her face.

"Zen, use another thundershock," she smiled and Zen shocked the Kabuto, who recoiled at the attack. Zen sat down, breathing heavily.

"It's okay Pebble, its nearly down already-use a mud shot!" Hazel sneered and her Kabuto shot a train of mud at Zen, who tried to stay standing, but couldn't cope with the ground attack and fell softly to the floor. Sarah gasped-she had not been expecting that. With a strengthened resolve to defeat Hazel, she steeled herself and sent out Air.

"Use twister!" Sarah yelled. Air quickly blew up a blue twister and sent it charging into Pebble, who was swept up inside then spat out onto the floor. It got back up again and shot an aqua jet at Air, who was knocked back in the air. She recovered from the strong attack and used a quick attack on Pebble. The Kabuto screeched in annoyance and scratched Air, who in turn also screeched and sent another twister at Pebble. Unfortunately, the small pokemon rolled out of the way and shot another jet of water at Air.

"Quit playing around Pebble, just use rock slide!" Hazel yelled. Much to Sarah and Air's horror, a roaring, rumbling sound could be heard and rocks came crashing down out of nowhere and landed on top of Air, making her crash to the floor; the super effectiveness knocked her out cold. Sarah almost cried out in horror and sorrow, but she wasn't going to do that infront of Hazel; so she just returned Air and sent Arcane bounding out onto the field.

"Watch out Arcane, that thing has alot of attacks that will hurt you," Sarah warned. Arcane nodded and howled, intimidating the small pokemon.  
"Use an aqua jet," Hazel smirked. Her Kabuto spurted a jet of water in Arcanes face, who promptly stopped in his tracks and shook his fur, trying to get rid of the horrible wetness. After shaking his fur off, he ran at Pebble, his fangs bared,

"Use rock slide now!" Hazel yelled. Once again, the rumbling sound filled their ears and rocks went tumbling down upon an unsuspecting Arcane.

A barking sound could be heard from underneath the rocks and Arcane pulled himself out from the rubble, awake, but very weak. Without warning, he mustered up all of his energy and thundered at Pebble, reversing the damage of the rock slide upon Pebble, who squealed in pain and curled up into a ball. Arcane backed away and stared at Pebble menacingly.

"Stop being a whimp and use another aqua jet!" Hazel shouted angrily at Pebble. The small pokemon looked up at Arcane with its glowing red eyes and let out a jet of cold water-dousing Arcane until he dropped to the floor. Hazel laughed cruelly as the fiery dog hit the floor,

"I told you-you're pokemon are weak and pathetic. You'll never make it to the Elite Four. Hah! You'll never make it past the next gym!" she sneered, then turned to stalk off.

"Excuse me? Where do you get off talking to people like that? Do you honestly think you're such a great trainer? You don't even respect your pokemon!" Sarah yelled, making Hazel stop and turn to look at her.

"I'm obviously a better trainer than you," she said venomously,  
"I honestly don't think so. You know what I think?" Sarah said, raising her voice and taking a step forward so she was directly in front of Hazel. Sarah's small size combined with Hazel's tall figure meant she was comparitavely smaller than her, but she glared up at her nonetheless; totally unfazed by the height difference,

"Why would I care what you think?"

"I think you're a stuck up bitch," Sarah said darkly. Anger flashed across Hazels face and her hand lashed out as she slapped Sarah across the face. Silence fell as Sarah stood there, totally still. Her fists were clenched at her sides and Hazel remained standing over her, glaring angrily at the top of her head. Seth stood, not knowing what to do while Kaleb just stared, his mouth hanging open. A good few minutes of silence passed until Hazel just sighed angrily and stalked off.


	27. Let The Rain Fall Down

Becoming The Best

Chapter 27

"I'm going to the pokecenter," Sarah muttered and turned to walk off, Arcane in her arms and her head down.

"Hang on," Seth said, placing his hand on her shoulder to stop her,

"What?" she siad in a muted tone, turning to look at him.

"You could have just hit her back you know," he told her.  
"I know but... You know," she sighed and turned to walk off again.  
"Sarah," Kaleb called after her. Sarah just ignored him and kept walking. She wondered why the heck she hadn't just hit her back, that freak had deserved it after all. Arriving at the pokecenter, her pokemon got healed and she retreated to her room for some peace. She flopped down on the bed with a sigh and released her pokemon; Air used Sarah's hoodie as a nest in the corner of the room and curled up, while Zen and Arcane were lying on the bed with Sarah.

"What is that girls problem?" she fumed, "I mean, I have never done anything to piss her off,"

She spent the next half hour or so talking to herself until she heard a knock on her door. She sighed and told whoever it was to come in. The door opened and Kaleb walked in. Arcane started to wag his tail and jumped over to go and see him. He took a seat on a wooden chair in the corner of the room and Sarah stayed sprawled out over the bed, staring at the ceiling. Air fluffed up her wings in the corner of the room-she still didn't really like Kaleb.

"You okay?" he asked gently,

"Yeah," Sarah muttered, still staring at the ceiling,

"If it makes you feel better I don't like that Hazel girl," he said hopelessly, hoping that would cheer her up. It did quite the opposite in fact.

"You said she was hot," Sarah snapped at him. She wouldn't have cared about Hazel assaulting her-but it was the fact that she had beaten her pokemon. Even though she didn't want to admit it, it was also the fact that Kaleb had said she was hot-how the heck could he think someone has bitchy as her was nice? Kaleb lounged back in the chair and rolled his eyes, why did she have to over-react about a stupid little comment he made?

"Look, I didn't know you hated her. But you have to admit she looked pretty nice," he said, trying to talk his way out of it,

"Yes that's right, just compliment the complete bitch that just goes around trying to kill Blair, then insults me and my pokemon, then goes and assaults me! Gee, thanks Kaleb, and here's me thinking you're supposed to be my best mate!" Sarah snarled, sitting up and staring daggers at Kaleb, who spread his arms over the back of his chair and waited until she had finished her rant.

"Seriously, if you're gonna start this whole girly hormone thing then I'm out of here,"

"Girly hormone thing? Kaleb, she's a complete and utter _bitch_!" Sarah cried out. Air was put out a bit by all the shouting and flew over to rest next to Sarah, just in case the other human tried to hurt her trainer,

"I'm not denying that, I'm just saying that she was hot," Kaleb told her, trying to make her see reason,  
"Kaleb, I'm not a _guy! _I don't think with my dick!" Sarah shouted,

"I'm not thinking with my dick! All I'm saying is that she wasn't ugly!"

"Oh and I am, am I?" Sarah shouted, she was so frustrated that her mind had twisted his words around completely,

"What?" Kaleb cried out in exasperation.  
"Look just... Whatever," Sarah sighed and flopped back down on the bed, staring at the ceiling again. If he was going to be so awkward then she simply wasn't going to talk to him.

"Oh c'mon what's wrong?" he sighed, laughing faintly. It echoed faintly around the room in the silence and he laughed in a disbelieving way again as he looked at her,

"You're not ignoring me now are you?" he asked. Again he was met with silence.

"Sarah, for god's sake what the heck is up?"

"Where's Seth?" she answered flatly. Kaleb was taken aback, he didn't understand why she would want to know where Seth was when he was sitting in the room trying to talk to her,

"What? Look, you can't just not talk to me," he said,

"Yes I can,"

"No. You can't, because I've decided I'm going to tag along with you, and you can't ignore me forever," he said bluntly, then walked out. Sarah sat up and stared after him, was he serious? In a huff, Sarah got up and grabbed her hoodie and walked out of the room, pulling it over her head. Her pokemon looked at eachother before quickly following her, not wanting to leave their trainer.

She stalked down the coridoor and out of the pokecenter, walking quick and speedily but not actually knowing where she was going to go. In the end, she found herself sitting on a bench in the park again. The sun was hidden behind grey clouds and the wind was starting to pick up. Hair whipping at her face, Sarah stared up at the mass of clouds that were shrouding over the town and she felt drops of rain spitting at her face. Arcane started to whimper as the water started to fall heavier, but it wasn't really hurting him at all; just making him feel uncomfortable. Sarah pulled him onto her lap while Zen sat on one side-Air on the other. She didn't want to go back to the pokecentre yet-so she stayed sitting on the seat for hours-the rain getting heavier and heavier until it was pouring down, soaking her through and through. Even then she didn't move, she just sat and felt the water drip down her face as she stared up at the sky. No one else was in the park by that time, it was starting to get dark and no one wanted to go to the park when it was dark and wet.

Seth needed to sort his thoughts out. He had been looking ever since he set out from the island, but what for he didn't even know. Just something, some sign that would lead him in the right direction. The rain was heavy, soaking his blonde hair, making it stick to his face. His two pokemon walked alongside him solemnly, neither of them had found any leads either and they wanted to know as much as their trainer-after all, it was their past too. He looked at the ground as the rain was hitting off it violently then he saw a small figure sitting on a bench, drenched through with the rain, sitting with three pokemon he recognised. Walking over, he sat down next to her without saying a word.

"Hi," Sarah said in a small voice,

"Hey," Seth replied in an equally dull voice. Neither of them felt like talking, so they simply sat in silence, staring out at the falling rain.


	28. An Eventful Day

Becoming the Best

Chapter 28

The next morning, Sarah was awoken by the sound of rain hammering against the window of her room. With a sigh, she glanced at her watch and saw that it was 7o'clock in the morning, not a time she particuarly wanted to be awake at. But once she was up, she couldn't get back to sleep, so she got a shower and sat down on her bed, towelling her hair dry. All of her pokemon were still asleep, Arcane was snoring gently and kicking around in his sleep. Air was curled up happily in the corner and Zen was lying peacefully at the foot of her bed. A smile found its way onto her face as she looked upon her sleeping team, at how peaceful and cute they looked. She couldn't bring herself to wake them up, so she carefully slipped out of her room and made her way down to the pokecafe for some breakfast. A strange sene of loneliness washed over her as she sat down to eat. Alone. She realised that it was the first time in what seemed like ages since she had been anywhere without any of her team. She got lost in her thoughts and didn't realise when another trainer entered the cafe,

"Mind if I sit here? Only I don't really want to sit alone," a voice pulled her out of her thoughts and she looked up to see a young girl of about eleven grinning at her with blonde hair in two pigtails. Torn between two decisions; on one hand she didn't wat a random kid sitting with her, on the other she didn't want to make the kid sit on her own. Fortunately, the choice was made for her when a mad orange dog came hurtling towards the chair she was sitting on and jumped up, almost knocking her over. The young girl ran off, terrified of the Growlithe that had just jumped up at Sarah.

"Hey little guy," Sarah laughed as Arcane started to lick her face. After she had eaten breakfast with Arcane sitting right next to her, his face hanging over her food, she went back to her room; where her pokemon were sitting 'talking' to eachother. When they saw their trainer enter the room, Air flew over and tried to sit on her shoulder again, but since she was bigger than when she as a Pidgey, her attempt was unsuccessful. Zen hopped down from the bed and walked over to Sarah's feet, staring up at her with a small smile on her face.

"Well, I have no idea what to do today, so let's just go train for a bit," Sarah said, and together with her team, she went out to find some pokemon to battle.

* * *

"That's not fair!" Seth whined, he had run into Kaleb who had told him that he would be going along on the journey with them,  
"Suck it up," Kaleb replied, slapping Seth on the back,  
"Why are you coming with us though?" Seth glowered, folding his arms and standing still.

"Coz I want to," Kaleb shrugged.

"But why?"

"I'm not allowed to talk to my best friend now am I not?"

"Don't you have any other friends?"

"Yeah, but we decided to split up-go our seperate ways then meet up at Woodham every year, makes the whole thing more exciting then," Kaleb explained with a hint of annoyance in his voice,

"If you think it's so exciting to go off on your own then why don't you?" Seth asked reproachfully,

"To make sure nothing bad happens," Kaleb said darkly, then walked off.

"Idiot," Seth muttered after him. Psycho suddenly let out an ear splitting yowl and ran off at a shocking speed after something, and Bree swiftly followed. Seth felt something fire up inside him as he raced after his pokemon, hoping they had found something. He ran all the way across town, his feet pounding across the pavement as he tried to keep his pokemon in view. Soon, he was running out of the town and into the outskirts, where trainers were ready to challenge those who passed by, but they didn't even try to stop Seth as he bolted past them, following his speeding pokemon. He skidded to a halt as he turned a corner to see Sarah lying on the grass near a pond, looking like she was in agony, blood seemed to be seeping through her hoodie; Arcane trying to fight off a pack of angry Luxray, who were quickly wearing the orange dog down. Seth's own two pokemon ran into the fray and tackled two of the Luxray away from Arcane.

"Sarah!" Seth cried and ran over to where she was lying,

"Seth, thanks. Can you please let Zen out?" she mumbled, her voice weak. Seth nodded and grabbed her bag which was several feet away from her, then let Zen out. She stood and looked around for a second, taking in the scene; then let out shocking attacks on the Luxray,

"Blair, you help out too!" Seth yelled and threw Blair out into the mix. Air was safely inside her pokeball, away from the electric attacks that would surely knock her out cold. After watching the battle for a moment and seeing that their pokemon were holding up well, Seth turned back to Sarah, who was sitting slightly up, holding her side and wincing in pain.

"What happened?" he asked in concern,

"Those Luxray were attacking a group of eggs, they were left abandoned. I think... I think they killed the parents because when I got here the Luxray already had blood on them," Sarah said. She was looking down at the ground, totally shaken. Sensing she was really upset; Seth gently put his hand under her chin and lifted her head up. Her eyes were red and puffy, tears brimming in her eyes.

"Oh god," Seth sighed, then pulled her into a hug. Sarah hugged him closely, glad to have someone there to be with and she couldn't hold back her tears anymore-she broke down into floods of tears on Seth's shoulder.

After the battle was over-it was obvious all of the pokemon would need healed-as would Sarah. She tried to stand up, but the pain in her side was too much and she fell back down-her head hitting something hard.

"Ow! What is that?" she cried out, twisting around to see what it was. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw, amidst the destroyed nest, was an egg.

"Seth, this egg..." she trailed off and picked the egg up. It was cool to the touch; it's white colouring giving way to a gentle blue tinge near its base.

"Well it only makes sense that you keep it, but right now you need to get to a pokecenter," he said and helped Sarah up, while she was carrying the egg. All of her pokemon (including Arcane) had been returned to their pokeballs, as had Seth's. Sarah put one arm around Seth's shoulder and he used one of his hands to support her as they made their way back to Tinalt's pokecenter.

At the pokecenter, Sarah was taken into a room and inspected. The gash in her side was very deep and needed stitches; she would probably need a few days rest in the town before she could set off travelling again. Her pokemon were all healed and their pokeballs lay next to her hospital bed on a tray and the nurse had told her she wasn't allowed to let them out in the hospital ward. So she was resigned to the ward for the next few days, which wasn't something she was looking forward to. After a few hours of sitting around doing absolutely nothing, Sarah was insanely bored. A knock on the door saved her from her boredom and she practically ran to the door to open it.  
"Oh my god, I'm so glad you're here, I mean come _on, _I've been sitting in here for hours with absolutely nothing to do. It's so _boring_!" Sarah rambled, as Seth walked in and sat down on a chair.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Sarah was wearing a hospital gown and her torso had a large bandage around it,

"Yeah, yeah I'll be fine. I just wish I could get out of this place. I mean there's this little garden thing where I can let my pokemon out, but I just want to keep on going-you know what I mean?"

"I know exactly what you mean. Oh, by the way, where did they put that egg?" he asked, looking around the room for it,

"Ah, I hid it under the bed," Sarah said excitedly and reached down underneath the bed-bringing out the cool egg in her hands.

"I wonder what's in it," Seth wondered,

"It's got to be watery, but I have no idea what it'll be. When it hatches I'll have to train it up loads won't I?"

"Yeah, probably. Imagine if it's like... A Tentacool or something. How gutted would you be?" he laughed,

"I would disown it. There is no way a poison pokemon is becoming a part of my team," Sarah stated, looking worriedly at the egg in her hands.

"Nah, I'm just kidding. It'll probably be like a Buizel or something like that. Anyway, are you gonna have to stay in the ward overnight, or will you get to stay in the trainer rooms?"

"Erm... They say I have to stay in this ward for a few nights, how boring is that?" Sarah rolled her eyes,

"That does sound pretty boring," Seth answered, looking around at the bare room.

"Oh, by the way... Did Kaleb tell you?" Sarah asked uncertainly, she sensed the animosity between the two,

"Yep," Seth answered shortly. He really didn't like Kaleb and knew that travelling with him would just be plain awkward. Something told him that the only reason he was tagging along was just to spite him, so in return, Seth had decided not to tell Kaleb that Sarah was now in hospital.

"Seth?" Sarah asked quietly,

"Yeah?"

"Please. Just try to get on with him," she pleaded, looking up at him with her big blue eyes. He sighed and rolled his eyes at her,

"I'll try, but I'm not promising anything,"


	29. Enjoy Your Trip?

_Woah, I feel like I haven't updated in ages! Anyway, here it is-hope you like it :)_

* * *

Becoming The Best 

Chapter 29

"Yeah, so you may aswell just leave now," Seth shrugged, looking innocently at Kaleb.

"So she just left?" Kaleb answered, not sure wether to believe Seth's story,

"Yeah, she said something about needing to leave straight away. So... You may aswell just go now,"

"Well why didn't you go with her?" Kaleb asked. Seth stopped to think for a second,

"She er... Said something about her sister," he sad, rubbing the back of his neck with tension.

"Oh, so she'll have gone to Quena Town?" Kaleb said with a hint of knowledge in his voice,

"Yeah," Seth answered absent mindedly,

"But that's quite far away though, I hope she's okay travelling there,"

"Yeah, yeah. She'll be fine," Seth waved his hand then walked off towards the pokecentre.

* * *

A few days later, Sarah was ready to set out from Tinalt Town; having spent so long in the pokecentre she wanted to leave as soon as she could, so she packed up what little things she had and met Seth outside.

"Hey, you ready to go?" he asked,

"Yeah, I can't wait," Sarah grinned, "Did Kaleb tell you when he would be here?"

"Oh, he left already. Said something about Quena Town," Seth told her, he figured that he wasn't exactly lying because he _had _said something about that town.

"Oh. Well I'm sure we'll get over it," Sarah said. Seth was suprised by her reaction, he thought she would be a bit more resistant to the fact that that kid wouldn't be going, but she had been thinking it over while she was at the hospital. She knew it would be a bad idea for Kaleb and Seth to be together for a long time-a very bad idea.

"So you're okay with that?"

"No, I'm pretty annoyed that he just left but... Whatever," Sarah shrugged her shoulders again and with that they walked off to the next town: Amaranthine.

The road to the next town was long, with a dark, dank cave winding its way through the landscape; so the only way to get to Amaranthine was through the cave. They stood at the mouth of the cave, before entering and a strange sense of de ja vu floated over her.  
"Woah, remember the cave back on your island?" she said aloud,  
"Why did you just call it _my _island?" Seth laughed,

"Because you come from there, don't you?"

"Well... Kind of," he mumbled,

"What do you mean by kind of?" Sarah asked,

"I don't think I was born there," he answered rather hesitantly.

"Think?" Sarah said in confusion,

"Yeah," he murmured, looking down at the floor. Sarah smiled sadly and patted him on the back,

"Well, we best go through this cave now otherwise we might not get out until night,"

"Pfft, it'll take us longer than a day to get through here!" Seth laughed at her,

"Are you kidding me?" Sarah demanded, staring into the dark cave,

"Did you seriously think that we would be out of the cave by nightfall?"

"Of course I did!"Sarah spluttered,

"Ha! Well you have alot to learn," he chuckled, then he placed his hand on her shoulder and pushed her forward.

* * *

After a few minutes of wandering through the cave, a wild Geodude appeared infront of them, looking for a battle. Both of the trainers stood there, waiting for the other to initiate the battle. After a few moments, the Geodude saw that no one was going to challenge him and it started to get annoyed,

"Seth, you can take it on,"

"No, I can't be bothered for a battle and anyway, you're the one that wants to battle the gym people," Seth argued,

"Gym _leaders _Seth," Sarah sighed,

"Either way I'm not battling that thing," Seth raised his eyebrows at Sarah, who sighed and turned to face the Geodude.

"You owe me for this," she muttered. The wild pokemon grinned when Sarah stepped forward, but soon grew angry again as Sarah tried to decide which pokemon to use,

"But none of my pokemon are any good against rock," she complained, throwing her hands up in exasperation and turning to look helplessly at Seth.

"Fine. But now you owe me!" he ground his teeth but sent out Psycho anyway, who shot off a few psychic attacks and dealt with the Geodude easily.

"Yes! Thank you so much!" Sarah squealed, placing her egg on the floor and throwing her arms around Seth, who just stood there awkwardly.

"It was only a battle," he said,

"Yeah, but now I don't have to battle, she beamed, picked up the egg and started walking again.

"Oh great, now I'm stuck with all the battling," he rolled his eyes and caught up with Sarah. The continued on for ages, Sarah frequently tripped up over stray stones and rocks, while Seth stood laughing at her each time she did.

"Just because I'm not cave friendly doesn't mean you have to laugh at me," Sarah told Seth as she fell flat on her face for the umpteenth time,

"I don't have to, but I'm still going to," he sniggered, helping her back up,  
"Yeah well you won't be laughing when I split my stitches and I can't walk and you have to carry me out of the cave,"

"Yeah right, like that would happen!" Seth shoved her, causing her to fall over yet again. But this time she didn't laugh and get back up.

"Owww! My side!" Sarah cried out, clutching at her stiches.

"Oh crap!" Seth gasped,

"I think they've just split," she whined, rolling over again on the floor,

"I'm sorry I didn't mean it,"

"Oh. That's okay," Sarah chirped happily, standing back up and dusting herself off.

"What? I thought your stiches..." Seth trailed off as he realised she had tricked him,

"Oh very funny," he laughed sarcastically,  
"Well to be fair they could have split, I was just.... testing you reactions," she told him with a smirk,

"I just hope we find the exit before you kill yourself by accident,"

"How the heck would I manage that?"

"Take two more steps and you'll drop to your death," Seth said, pointing at the ground infront of her, which fell away to a 100 foot drop. Before it could register in her head, she had already stepped into thin air. A surge of fear shot through Sarah and she felt her stomach drop through her feet and she clutched the egg tightly to her chest. Seth quickly grabbed her before she fell and pulled her back onto solid ground, where she practically collapsed at his feet.

"Oh my god, thank you so much!" she gasped, before standing up and staring at him in gratitude.

"You were just testing my reactions, right?" he smiled.


	30. Stitched Up

Becoming The Best

Chapter 30

The sun was setting behind the clouds, throwing colourful rays of light across the landscape. Deep inside the cave however, it was as dark as it had been all day. Bree snorted and promtply lay down on the floor, resting her head on her front paws.

"Looks like it's time to go to sleep," Seth said, sitting down on the ground.

"Huh?" Sarah grunted. She was tired from walking all day, having to rely on the pokemon's senses to guide them,  
"It's getting dark out, so we should probably get some rest now," Seth said as he lay down on his back.

"But... How do you? Gah forget it, I'm shattered anyway," Sarah sighed, then lay down on the floor, Arcane curling up next to her. She was too tired to even think of checking her watch.

"Bree's a dark pokemon, she can sense it," Seth muttered, but he didn't get an answer-Sarah was already asleep.

Sarah awoke with a start as she heard a yowl echo around the cave. She looked around for Seth and his pokemon, but they were nowhere to be seen. She wearily glanced at her watch and saw that it was 2:00am. She rolled her eyes but dragged herself up regardless, she needed to find out what was going on. Arcane was standing up straight, looking around for any sign of danger and Sarah called out to him. Upon hearing his maters voice, he bounded over to her and licked her face,

"Hey, um... Can you find Seth and the others?" she asked him. With a nod of his orange head, he started to sniff the ground for a trace of their scent. Sarah gathered up her sleeping bag; stuffed it in her bag, then scooped up her egg. She then ran off after Arcane, who made sure not to run too fast this time.

Eventually, Sarah and Arcane found Seth and his pokemon battling an all too familiar opponent.

"Use shadow punch!" Kaleb's voice echoed around the cave. Sarah just stood where she was, watching Seth and Kaleb battling furiously in the cave and put her head in her hands. She turned to walk away, not wanting to watch their stupid competition when she tripped up and a searing pain shot up her side. Her scream stopped the battling trainers mid-fight and they turned to look at her,  
"Sarah, now's not the time for your stupid games," Seth muttered, turning back to the battle,

"Yeah 'coz this red stuff that's squirting out of me is all part of a _game _isn't it?" Sarah spat sarcastically, clutching at her side as blood spurted from her broken stitches. Arcane ran over and started to lick at the wound, trying to help his trainer as much as he could.

"Oh... Crap are you okay?" Seth broke out of his trance and ran over, closely followed by Kaleb,

"What? What on earth did you fall on that cut a big hole in your side?" Kaleb gasped, looking at all the blood oozing out from his friend's hoodie.

"Stop talking and _help_," Sarah pleaded, the pain was so strong that she didn't have the energy to snap at him.

"But we're in the middle of a cave, what are we supposed to do?"

"Anything,"

"Well I've been training in this cave for a few days now, I know the way out," Kaleb said,

"We could always use a potion," Seth spoke up in a hopeful tone, holding up a super potion he had in his bag,

"Don't be stupid, she needs medical help," Kaleb brushed off his comment with disdain,

"It's worth a try though," Seth reasoned,

"No, it might just make it-" Kaleb stopped in mid sentence as Seth sprayed the liquid onto Sarah's wound. Another piercing scream echoed through the cave, sending dozens of Zubat flying up into the air. Sarah rolled over and curled into a ball, dust settling into her oozing wound.

"See, that didn't do _anything _you idiot," Kaleb snapped, shoving Seth so he fell on the ground,

"Please," Sarah mumbled. She was fighting to keep her eyes open, the pain was overwhelming and the warm blood that she could feel on her hands was making her feel queasy. She lay and watched Kaleb and Seth arguing over what to do for a few minutes until her eyes couldn't stay open any longer and the darkness shrouded around her...

* * *

"That was quite a close call. You really should be more careful out there," Nurse Joy scolded. Sarah lay in the bed, her eyes were heavy but she sat up as soon as she awoke.

"Woah, what happened?" she asked, looking around in bewilderment,

"You managed to split your stitches in the middle of a cave; which was a very silly thing to do young lady,"

"Well erm... I guess I'm sorry," Sarah replied with a smile on her face. Nurse Joy sighed impatiently and walked out of the room with a flounce, muttering something about 'teenager these days, so impetulant'. Sarah stifled a giggle and looked over at her bedside table-her clothes lay in a neat pile with her pokeballs and the egg safely nestled on top. For some reason she felt strangely refreshed and revitalised. She took a look at her side and saw that her stitches had healed up a whole lot since she last saw them, they were still stitched but the skin around it didn't look as broken,

"Woah, how long have I been out for?" she muttered to herself. She jumped up when she was answered by a knock on the door,

"Oh, erm. Come in!" she called. She looked up, expecting to see Seth or Kaleb. Instead, a woman with bouncy blonde curls hurtled through the room and threw her arms around Sarah, knocking her onto the bed,

"Sarah! I was so worried, you've been out cold for like, a week!"

"D... Daisy?" Sarah gasped, pushing away the hyper blonde that was hugging her,

"Yes! It's me, your favourite sister ever!" Daisy squealed,

"Your forgetting that you're my only sister," Sarah laughed, hugging her sister again; as much as she had hated Daisy when she left home, she had missed having her big sister around.

"Well. It looks like we have alot of catching up to do," Daisy smiled.

* * *

_Sorry for the lack of updates, stuck doing loads of revision and stuff; oh the joy of exams :/_


	31. A Chip Off The Old Block

Becoming The Best 

Chapter 32

Sitting in the pokecafe over some drinks, Sarah and her sister Daisy were catching up on all the things that had happened since they last met.

"It's so lucky I decided to come to this town this week. I'm taking a holiday you see-having a week off. Being the best coordinator in Sentas is a pretty big job you know," Daisy smiled, a hint of superiority in her voice,  
"So ever since you've left home, you've just been competing in contests? Every single day? Bloody hell, that must be boring!" Sarah exclaimed,

"Well you have to train every day," Daisy replied indignantly,

"Yeah, but training's fun. I mean, _you_ didn't have to battle directly, but you could have done something fun, like the pokeathlon," Sarah raised her eyebrows sceptically at her sister-she couldn't understand how she could find contests fun at all.

"The pokeathlon? Why on earth would I want to do that? I'd have to train and stuff, then I'd get all sweaty and... Eurgh!" Daisy shuddered, her curls bounced around her face. Sarah rolled her eyes and sat back; in the excitement of seeing her sister again she had forgotten how hung up she got on trying to be little miss perfect all the time,

"But what's wrong with that?"

"Look, contests are all about showing off your pokemon's beauty, how graceful they look and how cute they act. You find their inner beauty and perfect it, then show it to everyone so they can all appreciate the beauty of these amazing creatures," Daisy replied, her eyes glazed over as she imagined her pokemon in their contests,

"Daisy, you see their true beauty when they are in battle, but you see it combined with their strength and power-their intelligence and cunning! I mean, eurgh, you're getting me all chick-flick sentimental now but the point is: Pokemon are so much more beautiful when their showing off their power as well. Contests are just about brushing their hair and trying to make them look nice," Sarah retorted,

"Oh Sarah, you never did understand the importance of looking good," Daisy said disapprovingly. As she said it she seemed to look Sarah up and down as if she were of a lesser being.

"Thanks. I forgot why I didn't like you for a second there," Sarah muttered, then got up and walked out.

"Sarah, you know I didn't mean it like that!" Daisy called after her, but her sister was already gone.

* * *

Walking around the town she was now in (Lenka Town), Sarah was looking for the gym, she figured if she had nothing else to do then she may aswell challenge the leader. She had no idea where Kaleb or Seth were at, but she figured she should just get the gym out of the way. It was a fairly large town, and difficult to navigate. She started to circle around on the spot, looking up at the sky absent mindedly, when she bumped into someone. She almost dropped her egg, but the girl she had bumped into quickly caught it for her.  
"Thank you so much!" Sarah said in gratitude.

"No problem, that egg could have shattered," the girl smiled. An excited bark from Arcane interrupted them and they looked down to see him jumping around a Marowak, staring greedily at the bone in its hand. The Marowak simply grunted and folded its arms, looking away from the barking pup,  
"Oh, that's my little Churro, he's a bit unsociable," the girl giggled in apology.

"No problem, Arcane can just be a bit... Forward at times," Sarah smiled back, "Arcane, leave the bone alone please," Sarah laughed, Arcane let out a pitiful whine but sat down by his trainers feet, however he didn't take his eyes off the bone.

"So are you a trainer then?" the girl asked,

"Yeah, I'm Sarah by the way," Sarah grinned,

"That's pretty cool, I'm Hayley, nice to meet you," Hayley smiled.

"So what's up with you? Trainer, coordinator?" Sarah asked,

"Nah, none of that. I'm a wanderer you see. Travel the globe to see everything I can. Just arrived over from Kanto earlier this year, one heck of a place that is. There's this cute little island called Cinnabar, ooo and there's this tower in Lavender Town. I love that town, all spooky and stuff, but there's a sad story behind it too. Really hits home with me too, considering I myself have a Marowak here," Hayley rambled, stopping rather abrubtly to gaze affectionatly down at Churro.

"Lavender Town. That sounds like a nice place," Sarah thought aloud,

"Oh it is, the ghosts of Kanto live there. Brilliant they are," Hayley seemed lost in thought, until she seemed to snap back to reality,  
"I know! You're a trainer right? And I want to see Sentas, so would you mind if I tagged along with you?" Hayley asked, smiling at Sarah. Arcane seemed to sit up a little straighter at the thought of travelling with Churro, (though secretly it was just the thought of getting his jaws around that bone) and Sarah smiled. After travelling with lads for her entire journey, she thought it was about time she had some female company,

"I'd be delighted! Hang on, how old are you? And do your parents mind, I mean I don't want to get arrested for kidnapping or something," Sarah said worriedly,

"I'm 16, and don't worry, I have a pokegear so my parents can ring me and stuff," Hayley answered, showing Sarah the cool gadget.

"That's so cool," Sarah said. She glanced at the gizmo and for a moment wished she could have a one, but she brushed the feeling off and started talking to Hayley again,

"Oh, before I forget!" Sarah exclaimed, clicking her fingers in the air, "I'm already travelling with Seth and Kaleb, I hope you don't mind,"

"Erm, no of course I don't," Hayley replied compliently.

"And just so you know... They tend to argue alot," Sarah told Hayley, who simply laughed.

"I thought girls were supposed to be the awkward ones," she said,  
"I know," Sarah replied. They started walking aimlessly, Sarah had completely forgotten about the gym, when they turned a corner to see Kaleb and Seth walking towards them, arguing as usual.

As Sarah was walking towards them, the egg she was holding made a small noise; Sarah got such a shock that she almost dropped the egg in astonishment. Arcane barked loudly as Sarah stood on his tail and she fell backwards, fumbling with the egg and almost dropping it. Somehow she managed to keep hold of it, but she just stared at it in shock. Seth and Kaleb snapped their heads in her direction, apparently hearing the noise

"You heard that, didn't you?" she asked everyone, never taking her eyes off the egg. Arcane was the only one to respond, nodding his head; and edged closer to the egg in curiosity. He nudged it lightly with his nose and a small shard of egg chipped away.

"Argh! Arcane don't break it!" Sarah squeaked. She needn't have worried though, as the small pokemon inside started to move around and more egg started chipping away. There was enough eggshell removed to reveal a blue coloured head, and excitement took over Sarah,

"It's a blue colour! Ooo, whatever it is, it's blue!" she squealed, waiting eagerly for the rest of the shell to break away.


	32. Blue!

Becoming The Best 

Chapter 32

"Is blue your favourite colour or something?" Hayley asked, suprised at Sarah's excitement,

"No, but my new pokemon is going to be blue!" Sarah squealed in her face, then turned back to the egg, which she had placed on the floor. A small, round blue face poked out with big reddish eyes and a huge smile.

"Aaa! It really is blue!" Sarah screamed, enthralled at the face of her little pokemon. Two stubby little arms protruded from the shell, pushing the rest of the egg away so it ended up standing up, the remnants of the blue shell scattered around it. The small blue pokemon looked down at itself, taking in its brown shell and big blue tail.

"Oh. My. God," Sarah gasped, her mouth hung open in awe at the pokemon in front of her,

"Aren't they supposed to be rare?" Kaleb asked incredulously, stepping forward to stare at the tiny turtle pokemon.

"You lucky git, you managed to pull yourself a Squirtle?" Seth laughed, his eyes wide as he looked down at the small Squirtle, who was looking around and smiling mischeviously.

"A blue Squirtle," Sarah said stupidly, her mind still blown at the fact she had the sheer luck of finding a Squirtle egg. Arcane walked forward and sniffed the small pokemon in front of him, and suddenly the Squirtle grabbed hold of a tuft of his hair, pulling it. Arcane yelped in pain and the Squirtle started chortling with laughter. Arcane growled a warning, but the Squirtle just giggled and pulled itself onto the Growlithes back. Arcane started to flip out and jumped around to try and throw the Squirtle off his back, until Sarah gently picked up the Squirtle and took it in her arms,

"Hello my little blue pokemon," Sarah cooed. In reponse, the Squirtle gently bit her nose,

"Check it with your pokedex!" Kaleb told her,

"Oh yeah, I keep forgetting about that thing," Sarah laughed, and took out her pokedex.

"Hey, he's a little boy," Sarah smiled at the Squirtle again,

"Are you going to pick a decent nickname this time?" Seth mocked. Sarah shot him a look that soon shut him up and turned her attention back to the Squirtle,

"Yes actually I am. He's going to be called Blue," Sarah smiled.

"Again, not a good nickname," Seth sniggered, before collapsing into a fit of laughter,

"Woah, it's not that funny Seth," Sarah said flatly. Blue turned to look at the laughing human, insulted at the fact he was mocking his new name. He then withdrew into his shell, which started to spin, then jets of water started spurting out, somehow aimed directly at Seth. He jumped up, absolutely soaking, and stared at the Squirtle,

"He just, what the? Huh?" he blathered helplessly.

"Aww, did the little baby Squirtle squirt you?" Sarah said in a childish voice,

"Pfft, yeah! Look at me! I'm all wet!" he yelled, ringing out his top,

"I like this little one already," Sarah smirked,  
"I second that," Kaleb said, staring maliciously at Seth. Seth turned and stood up straight, glaring right into Kaleb's eyes. They stood there for a fair few minutes, locked in a stare down, until Blue used his aqua jet on both of them, breaking the tension and setting Hayley and Sarah off laughing.

"On second thoughts, I don't like that Squirtle," Kaleb seethed, galring at the baby pokemon, who just chuckled at the sight of the angry human,

"I think he's cute! As long as he doesn't hurt Churro though," Hayley giggled, Kaleb and Seth notcied her then for the first time,

"Who are you?" Seth asked defensively, looking at this stranger who had just randomly butted in, with an unfriendly looking Marowak at her side,

"I'm Hayley," the girl said shyly,

"Okay... Sarah what's going on here?" Seth said slowly, turning to look at Sarah for an explanation,

"She's gonna be travelling with us," Sarah said nervously, hugging a writhing Blue closely, he was struggling to get down so in the end Sarah just let him down,  
"She better not be a mass murderer," Seth muttered, narrowing his eyes suspiciously,

"Don't worry, I won't murder anyone," Hayley laughed.

"That's what I meant to ask you!" Sarah exclaimed, clicking her fingers in the air, "Why the heck were you two battling in the middle of the cave at 2 o'clock in the morning?" she said, turning to Kaleb and Seth

"Oh _that_," Kaleb muttered, shooting a look at Seth,  
"He found me while I was asleep and kicked me awake, then we started arguing and walking, then he sent his Gastley to attack me so I sent Bree out," Seth told her casually,

"Okay... What the heck were you's arguing about?" she asked, looking at them. There was a long silence and none of them spoke.

"Well?" Sarah asked again, putting her hand on her hip,

"Awkward," Hayley sang in a high pitched voice, breaking the tension between them, but attracting her glares from all three parties.

"What?" she asked innocently. They were all distracted however, by a vicious howl from Churro as he struck Blue over the head with his bone, before piveting on his feet and striking Arcane with it too. Blue had tried to distract him while Arcane crept up behind and stole the bone, but Churro wasn't stupid and stopped them before they were anywhere near his precious bone. Blue burst into a fit of loud, piercing cries as a bruise immediately showed on his head.

"Blue, Blue calm down," Sarah soothed, picking up her new baby pokemon. Seeing the attention Blue was getting, Arcane also started to whine, so Sarah picked him up and held him under one arm (which was both uncomfortable and difficult) and cradled the crying Squirtle in her other arm.

"I'm going to have to go to the pokecentre," Sarah sighed and started to walk off, but Arcane decided he was way too uncomfortable under his owners arm and struggled to be down. Then, when Blue saw that Arcane was walking on the ground, he jumped down and sat on the Growlithe's back, hitching a ride.

"Well, I may aswell let the other's out," Sarah stopped and said to herself, then let Air and Zen out. Zen sat down and looked at Blue with interest. Air seemed disinterested and flew around for a bit instead. Seeing the way that Zen was looking at him, Blue clambered down from Arcane's back and stumbled over to the Jolteon.

"Imagine if she accidently electrocuted him," Hayley laughed, but again, she was just met with odd looks from the others-including the pokemon this time. Blue turned his attention back to Zen and reached out to touch her, but a small growl from Zen warned him not to, incase of an electric shock. Blue ignored her warning however and he grabbed a handful of Zen's fur, but quickly snatched it away with a cry. It didn't hurt him, just tingled a bit, but he started to cry anyway. His shrill cries echoed out again and Sarah sighed. She was just about to pick up the small pokemon, when Air cried out from up above and swooped down suddenly, grabbing the wailing Squirtle in her claws.

"Air! Blue!" Sarah yelled out in exasperation. She knew her bird wouldn't let Blue come to any harm, but she still felt scared, after all-the last time she was flying around with another pokemon she got attacked by a dangerous Aerodactyl. A few moments later, Air came spiralling back down to the ground with a giggling Squirtle.

"What was that all about?" Seth said,  
"I have absolutely no idea," Sarah replied.


	33. Fried Lambchop Anyone?

Becoming the Best 

Chapter 33

A little while later, after Sarah had insisted they go to the pokecentre to heal the bruise on Blue's head, they were all sitting on the outskirts of town, laughing at their pokemon. Blue was sitting tugging on Arcane's ears, much to the annoyance of the Growlithe; but he let the baby pokemon do as he wanted anyway-Blue seemed to screech everytime he was told not do something he wanted to. Blair was, as usual, chasing along after Air; Zen was spread out calmly, sunbathing peacefully while Bree and Psycho were having a friendly play fight. Hotch (who was now suprisingly a Haunter, apparently he had evolved during the battle with Seth in the cave) was floating around and just annoying people, Polo was busy doing handstands and Ellie seemed fascinated with Churro, who simply ignored the little Phanphy.

"Pokemon are so cool," Kaleb said as he watched them all playing,  
"Yeah, but sometimes they can be a bit of a handful," Sarah sighed as she pulled Blue away from Arcane. As soon as he was free from the turtle, Arcane bolted over to Bree and Psycho and jumped into the middle of their fight,  
"You have to remember that Blue's only a baby though," Seth reminded her, as the Squirtle wriggled away. He ran over to where the three pokemon were play fighting and started showering them with water.

"Blue! Stop it!" Sarah called, scrambling over to him to pull him away. He got annoyed at that and turned around to squirt everything within range-which happened to be _everyone_. Blair stopped running and turned to look at the Squirtle, before stamping her feet and lowering her head to charge; Churro however got to the Squirtle first and started clubbing him over the head with the bone repeatedly.

"Blue!" Sarah screamed. Blair stopped her charge, shocked at the brutality of Churro. Bree and Psycho looked up from their spar, and immediately pounced on the attacking Marowak; ripping into him with fury.  
This time it was Hayley who screamed and she ran forward to pick up her pokemon, but Air got there first and plucked up the thrashing Marowak to prevent it from any further injury, and from injuring anyone else. Despite the attack of the Eeveelutions, Churro seemed perfectly healthy, and showed it by hitting Air with its bone.

"For christ's sake, just recall your pokemon!" Sarah yelled angrily at Hayley. The girl rifled through her bag hopelessly as Churro managed to climb atop Air and start smashing into her skull with its bone. With a cry of pain, Air spiralled to the ground with a triumphant looking Churro atop her back.

"Air!" Sarah cried, running forward to pick up her Pidgeotto. As soon as the Marowak hit the ground, Bree and Psycho were attacking him agan-as was Blair, furious at seeing her best friend attacked so savagely,

"Churro, return!" Hayley cried out, and with a flash of red light, everything was calm. Bree snorted her disapproval and Psycho let out a yowl of anger. Blair stamped her feet and looked mildly pleased with herself-thinking she had rid them of the Marowak.  
"I'm so sorry! He's just... He has anger problems," Hayley apologised, looking distraught,

"These two... They hate young pokemon being attacked like that. It's a... Personal thing," Seth said awkwardly, as if he were looking for the right words to explain.

"Yeah well I now have two terribly injured pokemon who need desperate medical aid. Goodbye," Sarah said in a huff and stalked off to the pokecentre, her pokemon safely recalled,

"I didn't do anything wrong," Kaleb said, to noone in particular.

"Oh yeah? Well you have a perfectly capable water pokemon right there, why couldn't you tell it to use a water gun or something eh? That could have easily stopped the stupid Marowak from attacking, but no. You had to stand there like a comlete tool and watch my pokemon get practically _killed_!" Sarah screamed in his face before turning on her heel to hurry off to the pokecentre.

* * *

"None of this would have happened if you had just listened to me," Sarah scolded Blue as they stood outside the local gym. She had decided that she would take on the gym leader and get a badge, maybe that would help keep Blue in check. Upon seeing the gym however, Blue withdrew into his shell with a whimper,

"Don't worry Blue, I won't make you battle," Sarah said sympathetically as she patted Blue's head-she was starting to feel sorry for the baby pokemon. Arcane tossed the fur on his head with impatience, he just wanted to hurry up with the battles. Blue smiled in repsonse and jumped down onto Arcane's back. With a snort, the Growlithe tried to dislodge him, but it was no use. Instead, they trotted into the gym, Arcane with a grumpy look on his face.

As Sarah walked into the gym, the bright yellow walls jumped right out at her-their brightness was almost blinding.

"Woah," she gasped as she walked forward, the decor in the gym were all painted in primary colours, but the yellow stood out most of all.

"Welcome!" a voice cried as a young girl jumped out from behind a podium, "This is my gym-a place of electrifying spirit! You want to battle me?" the girl asked, a grin across her face. Confusion swept through Sarah-she thought the leader of this town was ghost-type, not electric.  
"Yes please," Sarah smiled,

"Then step onto that little thingy over there," the girl pointed at a square of pink rubber, emblazened with a white pokeball. The girl then skipped over to a bright yellow one opposite of Sarah and grinned,

"I accept your challenge, challenger Sarah! I am gym leader Kristy, and my pokemon will use their electricity to fry you!" Kristy giggled. Sarah wondered if this girl was actually old enough to qualify as a gym leader, but decided not to question the system. Blue detatched himself from Arcane and clambered up onto Sarah's shoulders, attaching himself to the back of her neck instead.

"I will send out my pokemon now, go Lamb-Chop!" Kristy threw her pokeball onto the arena and a Flaafy materialised on the field,  
"Okay, let's start this off with a bang. Zen I choose you!" Sarah yelled, releasing her Jolteon, "Wow, that was so cliche-I am never saying that again," she muttered to herself.

"Lamb-Chop, use thunder wave!" Kristy ordered. Her Flaafy let loose a crackle of energy, which Zen swiftly managed to dodge.

"Use quick attack,"

Zen ran at the Flaafy with such momentum that it was knocked to the floor with a cry,

"Great job, now use another one before it gets back up!" Sarah cried excitedly, but to her dismay, Zen remained rooted to the spot,

"That shows you, little miss quick attack!" Kristy shouted childishly, "Lamb-Chop has static fur and your Jolteon just got paralysed!"

"Oh great, just what I needed," Sarah mumbled sarcastically, "Don't worry Zen, we can still do this!" she shouted louder, encouraging the lightning pokemon to pull herself through the paralysis and dart again at the Flaafy,  
"Dodge out of the way and tackle it!" Kristy yelled. Lamb-Chop jumped out of Zen's way and collided into her hide, knocking her to the floor. Zen closed her eyes and pushed through the pain, channeling it into a poweful thundershock that flung the Flaafy back. For a while they traded blows, neither gaining the advantage but both of them were wearing down.

"Zen, use another quick attack," Sarah said helplessly-this was getting them nowhere fast,

"Let's end this-Lamb-Chop, meet her head on with a tackle!" Kristy cried. The two pokemon hurtled towards eachother, head on. They crashed into eachother with electrifying force, an explosion of electric blew both of them back, each crashing into a wall. Zen struggled to get back up, while Lamb-Chop was already on her feet,

"This is it! Lamb-Chop, finish her off with a thundershock!" Kristy called excitedly. Her pokemon let out a flash of electric that connected directly with Zen, enveloping her with white light. After the light faded, Zen was standing up straight, a shine in her almond eyes, growling gently with her new-found energy,  
"Oh no! How could I forget? Jolteons have Volt Absorb don't they?" Kristy whined,

"They sure do," Sarah smiled, "Zen, use quick attack,"

Zen ran at the Flaafy and knocked her down, forcing her out of the battle.

"Okay, get ready to lose," Kristy smirked and sent out her remaining pokemon-a Luxio. It's eyes sparkled with the thrill of battle, a smile spread across its cute little face. As soon as Blue saw the pokemon, he whimpered and hid his head behind Sarah's shoulder. Sarah wondered if he had some recollection of the attack on his family, but he had been in an egg, how could that have happened?

"Okay, but I'm going to recall Zen, I think it's fair to say she can't battle," Sarah reasoned, returning her weak Jolteon, praising it as she did so.

"Arcane, you're up," she said. Arcane leapt forward, matching the Luxio's enthusiam easily.

"Okay, Arcane use fire wheel,"

Arcane jumped into action and barrelled into the Luxio, fire streaming around him. The Luxio however, easily dodged the attack and sunk his teeth into Arcane's back leg,

"Great job Cell, use charge now," Kristy smiled. The Luxio smiled brightly and his fur crackled with energy,  
"Arcane, hit it with another flame wheel," Sarah said, and the Growlithe collided in a fiery blaze with Cell. The Luxio kept his ground and as soon as the fire had died away, it revealed the Growlithe standing at a very close range. The Luxio let out a terrifying shock that coursed through Arcane, searing through his body, leaving him in agony.

"Arcane! Come one you can do this, use reversal!" Sarah yelled, worried for her little friend. Arcane mustered up his strength and used the pain to run at Cell, who simply jumped up in the air and bit down viciously onto Arcanes neck. The fiery canine let out a howl of pain and dropped to the floor, unable to battle. Cell stood back and grinned, hardly even scratch on him from his fight.  
"Woah," Sarah gasped, returning Arcane to the safety of his pokeball to battle out the rest of the fight.

"Okay Air, this is going to be tough," she whispered to Air's pokeball, then let her out onto the arena. Cell took one look at Air and his smile grew even bigger,  
"You know what to do Cell," Kristy smiled. Her Luxio growled in response and started to charge his fur with eletricity,

"Use a sand attack and get ready to dodge some electricity Air. You're going to have to dodge alot in this battle, but keep just try to evade then attack. I'm sorry to put you up to this, but you're my only chance now," Sarah said in a small voice. Air called out softly to her, letting her know that she understood. Turning her attention to the battle, she scraped up some sand into the Luxrays face, but he just shook his hed and let out a crackling shock, Air tried to swerve out of the way but the attack connected squarely in her chest, knocking the breath out of her. She fell to the floor, her breath ragged.

"Use spark!" Kristy yelled. Without giving Air a chance to regain her composture, Cell slammed into her, electricity bristling through his fur. Needless to say, Air couldn't withstand the attack and fell back, defeated.

* * *

_Sorry for Flaafys name, but I couldn't resist! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter :)_


	34. Howling at the Moon

Becoming The Best

Chapter 34

"I am so stupid, how the heck did I let that happen?" Sarah sighed, on the edge of tears. She couldn't believe she had lost that battle.

"I'm sure you'll get over it," Kaleb rolled his eyes at her. He didn't understand the emotional turmoil she was in.

"Hey, it could be worse. I mean, at least you still have your pokemon. None of them were killed," Seth said rather darkly.

"What do you mean killed? Why would they die? I don't want them to die!" Sarah said hysterically, her mind was running in circles and she couldn't think properly. The thought of her pokemon dying was hanging in her mind, her throat choked up and tears fell down her face.

"They _aren't _dead," Seth said flatly before standing up and walking off to his room. As he entered his room, he threw his bag harshly to the floor and sat down on his bed, running his hand through his hair. Bree and Psycho stepped across the room to sit next to him, their heads in his lap.

"I need some time guys," he sighed, then without bothering to undress, her curled up in bed and fell asleep.

* * *

_A giggle floated along the breeze, a small child out for a walk with his grandmother. She picked him up, the comforting smell of homemade cookies that was always around her wafted up the young childs nose. He giggled again as the wind whipped his hair around his face. He was placed on the ground again, laughing alongside the prancing Ponyta. They passed along a forest, the giggling was stopped abrubtly by a loud crash. A thundering creature appeared out of the trees, towering above them with a ferocious bellow. There was no more laughing. The Ponyta swept up the young boy on its back and galloped off by order of the grandmother, while she sent out her only pokemon. A small Spoink. The little boy took one last look at his grandmother standing before the towering beast. _

* * *

Waking with a start, Seth looked around the room. It was dark, way too early on in the morning for him to be awake. But that dream had rattled him, he had always known what had happened, but he had never seen it so vividly. With a cry of rage he picked up the bedside lamp and thew it at the opposite wall, where it smashed and sharply awoke his three sleeping pokemon. Blair smiled and went to poke about at the lamp pieces, whereas Bree and Psycho exchanged knowing looks. They looked at their owner but he refused to look at them, instead he walked out, slamming the door behind him. The cool air hit him as he stepped outside, the moonlight shining down. The sight of the full moon just dug up even more painful memories, so he tore his gaze away from the sky. A pokemon howled in the distance and Seth sighed, wondering what it was like to be free.

* * *

"That's a load of crap. I thought this town's gym was supposed to be ghost type, not bloody electric," Sarah groaned, sitting by the pond that was on the outskirts of town.

"What? Where did you get that from?" Seth asked,

"Amaranthine, it said in a book I read. It's name is some shade of purple or something-so the gym leader took the type of ghost to fit in with the town," Sarah explained. At that point, Hayley, Kaleb and Seth all started laughing hysterically.

"What? What did I say?" Sarah asked helplessly, looking at anyone for an explanation,

"Sarah, we're in Lenka Town," Hayley said, calming down.

"_What_?" Sarah exclaimed, "I thought we were going to Amaranthine after the cave,"

"Yeah, but if you remember you needed medical aid and since Amaranthine is such a small place they didn't have the resources to help you properly. So they teleported you to the next town over, Lenka," Kaleb explained.

"What? Seriously, what the hell? Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"You didn't ask," Seth replied, lying back on the grass,

"Well... I need to train. Alot," Sarah said suddenly, standing up. With that, she walked off, muttering to herself about the best ways to train her pokemon.

"I guess I'm going to have to do some training too," Kaleb said before sloping off to do some training himself. Psycho was dipping in and out of the pond, chasing the Magikarp. Bree on the other hand, was busy staring wearily at Churro. Hayley noticed the hostility between them and sighed,

"Our pokemon don't seem to like each other much," she laughed nervously,  
"That's 'coz your Marowak is a bully," Seth replied,

"What?"

"I can tell he's a high level pokemon, yet he feels the need to attack totally weak ones, like Blue. That Squirtle had practically just hatched, and your pokemon almost killed him. That's not right. Imagine if he had actually killed that pokemon. You wouldn't be laughing then," Seth said. His voice was dark, loathing. After hearing her owners speech, Bree glowered even more, pain flashing in her eyes. A growl escape her lips and Churro flipped out again. He jumped through the air and came down on her head like a samurai, weilding its bone like a sword. Hearing his sister's screams, Psycho emerged from the pond, a Barboach hanging comically from his mouth. He dropped it straight away when he saw his sister though, and he swam as fast as he could to get to the land, then sprinted over to Churro. He then picked it up roughly in his jaws and flung him into the pond, quickly diffusing the situation.

"Churro, return," Hayley sighed in exasperation as her Marowak disappeared in a flash of red light. Seth looked at her grimly,

"You should really get a badge. I don't think you should let him out of his pokeball until you get a one. Try the gym in this town, your pokemon will have a type advantage. But make sure he stops before he kills anyone," he told her, then walked off, leaving Hayley feeling extremely guilty.


	35. Holey Moley

Becoming the Best

A week of intensive training later, Sarah walked into the gym (Seth and Hayley were going in to watch too) with some much stronger pokemon, along with a Wartortle. He had evolved during the week, and Sarah had screamed in excitement, before running over and hugging Blue. She then took him by the hand and ran off to find the others. She found Seth walking around and ran up to him,

"Seth, Seth look!" she squealed. He turned around and looked at Blue.

"Woah, pretty awesome!" he smiled, keeling down to look at him properly. As he did so however, Blue squirted his face with water before erupting in a fit of giggles again.

"Good to see evolution hasn't changed the guy one little bit," Seth laughed, wiping his face with his sleeve. When Blue heard him say that, he laughed again and hugged his legs.  
"So, when are you facing the gym?" he asked Sarah,

"I'm unsure, Blue still needs alot more training. Maybe by the end of the week I'll be ready," she said, pondering for a moment,

"Fair enough. Are you going to use Blue in the fight?"

"I have no idea. Hopefully I can get Zen and Arcane tough enough to take Kristy's pokemon down by themselves,"  
"You think it will be that easy?"

"I may aswell try," Sarah reasoned.

And now she was standing inside the gym again, with newfound hope and stronger pokemon.

"I see you want another challenge eh? Okay. You know where to stand," Kristy waved her hand, skipping the introduction and what-not.

"Okay, send out your first pokemon and let's battle!"

Lamb-Chop hopped out onto the battle ground as Arcane smirked.

_This is gonna be easy._

"Okay Lamb-Chop, try a cotton spore" Kristy yelled out, Arcane jumped out of the way quickly to avoid the sticky looking spores that floated about in the air, waiting to latch onto his fur,

"Use an ember to burn them," Sarah told him, Arcane responded by burning away all of the evil spores, then ran at the Flaafy with a flame wheel. However, Lamb-Chop had been practising too and she jumped quickly out of the way before shooting a thunder wave at Arcane, paralyzing him.

"Damn it! This is supposed to be easier not harder!" Sarah cursed, kicking at the ground. Arcane merely laughed and charged at the Flaafy, his fangs bared-fire licking at his mouth. With a sharp snap, he chomped down on Lamb-Chop with a strong fire fang. The Flaafy squealed and instinctively let out a bolt of electricity, blowing Arcane back a fair few feet, his jaw still enclosed on the wooly pokemon. He stood up from where he landed, spitting out a mouthful of fur with a grin on his face and a gleam in his eye. Then, with a loud roar, he pounced on Lamb-Chop, once again his jaw was flaming with searing hot fire.

"Woah, Arcane's on fire!" Seth gasped from the sidelines. Hayley started laughing at the unintended pun, Seth not even realising the bad joke he had made.

"Go on, you can do it!" the two friends shouted from the stands. Sarah and Arcane both looked up, smiling. A big mistake. Lamb-Chop took the oppurtunity to charge up her fur then launched a tackle at Arcane. While he was still on the ground, Lamb-Chop let out a powerful thundershock from her static fur, driving the Growlithe deep into the ground, blasting out a hole in the floor. Arcane tried to jump out of the hole he was in, but the paralysis took a vice-like grip on him, preventing his movement and rendering him helpless. Lamb-Chop let out a 'baa' of gloating, proud to be showing the Growlithe that she wasn't such an easy opponent. In return, Arcane growled angrily, not being able to do much else. Lamb-Chop laughed coldly and released a barrage of thundershock's until Arcane could no longer battle. He lay at the bottom of the pit, his breath came in ragged, uneven rasps and Sarah ran onto the field herself, pulling her pokemon from the hole. She returned him into a pokeball and walked back to her place on the field. She stuck out her chin indignantly, furious at Arcane's defeat,

"You are going to be so sorry you just did that," she scowled, bringing out her next pokeball.

"Zen, finish off this little thing. Maybe we can have lamb chops for dinner," she spat, glaring at the small Flaafy, who glanced fearfully at her own trainer,

"Hey! Don't threaten her like that!" Kristy yelled,

"I didn't threaten anyone. I simply stated what I might cook for dinner. Zen, let's kick things off with a double kick!" her voice echoed around the room as she called out her first command; Zen's eyes sparkled and she surged forward, swinging her legs so that they collided harshly with Lamb-Chop. The Flaafy was pushed back across the floor and into the hole. Combined with the harsh beating she had recieved from Arcane, Lamb-Chop was feeling very weak at that point, but she forced herself up regardless and her fur crackled violently with electricity. She was just about to let loose when Kristy shouted out,

"Lamby stop! It has volt absorb, remember? You're going to have to use tackle,"

Lamb-Chop growled in annoyance, she knew her tackle was weak and would be useless in this fight, but she had no other choice. With a high pitched cry, she flung herself out of the hole and towards the Jolteon,

"Zen, use your double kick to trip it up," Sarah laughed. Zen's eyes sparkled with a smile as she aimed a powerful kick at Lamb-Chop's ankles, sending her sprawling across the floor. Hayley and Seth stifled a laugh up in the stands as the pink fluffly pokemon lay spread eagled across the floor. She didn't get back up.

"You did well my little Lamb-Chop. Now make no mistake challenger Sarah, Cell will pulverise your team," Kristy muttered grudgingly as her Luxio trotted onto the field, tossing his glossy black hair out of his face, fixing Arcane with a menacing leer, lowering his defence.

"Zen, use double kick," Zen ran swiftly at the Luxio, who crackled with the thrill of battle and bounced out of the way. Zen did a brisk pivot on her paws to face her foe. Cell gave her a quick smile before leaping at her with open jaws, fortunately Zen managed to slip out of his grasp at the last minute, causing his jaws to snap shut on thin air. The two pokemon stood once facing eachother once again and stared for a long moment before their feet started to pad across the ground, lightly circling eachother, tension building.

"Shock him Zen!" Sarah called suddenly. The tense atmosphere was shattered as a crackling beam of light shot at Cell, hitting him squarely in the face. He recoiled quickly, but regained his posture and leapt at Zen, his jaws clamping around her head.

"This is going to be tough," Hayley mumbled,  
"Yeah, but Sarah has three pokemon, Kristy only has one. I know the others are weak against electric, but surely the numbers should even the odds out," Seth reasoned,

"Good point, I just hope she can do it," Hayley added.

"I'm sure she can,"

With a roar, Cell and Zen both hurtled towards eachother, all tooth and claw as they grapples with one another, each trying to gain the upper hand. They bit and scratched, electricity sparking off them as they tore into eachother. Cell's strength seemed to be winning out and he managed to push Zen over the edge and into the hole, but the Jolteon's claws were embedded into Cell's fur and he went tumbling in after her. The trainers could no longer see their pokemon battling it out in the hole, but they could hear many growls and roars from Cell, while Zen remained quiet as usual. Suddenly, a huge flash lit up the enire arena, blinding everyone in the room. As quickly as it arrived, the light subsided and all was quiet.

"Zen?"

"Cell?"

With a growl of victory, Cell climbed out of the hole, dragging Zen out as gently as he could, letting go of her at Sarah's feet. He then smiled up at Sarah before bounding back over to his own. Kristy bent down to stroke her Luxio in praise, he rubbed his head up against her legs with joy while Sarah looked on in confusion.

"What the heck just happened?"

"I'm not sure," Kristy said, equally confused, "Well, I'm sure the spectators can tell us," she said apprehensively, turning to look at Seth, Hayley and some gym trainers who were watching the match avidly. As the two battling girls turned to ask them what happened, every single one of them started to talk at the same time, confusing the two battlers even more.

"Woah, one person at a time!" Kristy yelled in irritaion. The gym trainers immediately sat down, embarrassed at being rebuked by the gym leader. Seth however, wasn't fazed and stood up,

"Zen was losing, so she let out a thundershock just as Cell bit her. Didn't do him much harm though did it?" he said, looking down at the poor Jolteon.

"Thanks, I hadn't noticed that like!" Sarah shouted sarcastically. As if she needed reminding that she was now down to her two pokemon that had weaknesses to her (very strong) opponent.


	36. Getting Even

Becoming The Best

Chapter 36

After much deliberation, Sarah decided on the pokemon she would send out.

"Your first major battle. You can do it kiddo," Sarah whispered lightly as Blue stumbled forward to face Cell. A small smile crept across Blue's face as he looked around at the formality of this battle. After he looked around, his eyes rested upon his opponent, who had a cocky smile on his face, ready for battle. Snapping into battle mode, Blue readied himself for the fight, his tail swishing behind him. Cell's fur crackled and the trainers knew the battle was about to begin,

"Cell use spark!"

"Blue, use tail whip!"

The Luxio ran at an alarming speed towards Blue, its fur crackling as it ran. As it launched itself off the ground, aiming straight at Blue, the Wartortle spun around and blocked the attack with a blow from his tail. Cell fell onto the floor, his breath knocked out of him. Blue giggled at the attack, but Cell was angered. He pulled himself up and snarled viciously at Blue, who squealed in terror and ran behind Sarah's legs when he heard Cells cry.

"Blue what's wrong?" Sarah asked him, worried about her pokemon's strange behaviour. Blue shivered and pointed at the Luxio.

"But you were battling him fine," Sarah sighed in exasperation,

"What's up? The battle isn't over yet!" Kristy yelled impatiently.

"Why won't Blue battle?" Hayley murmured restlessly in the stands,  
"I'm not sure, it must have something to do with that egg incident though," Seth mused,

"What egg incident?" Hayley asked, doubly confused. Seth explained briefly about the attack of the Luxrays on Blue's family.

"Poor little guy... But how would he remember?"

"Well back on the island the newborns would recognise our voices. I know Bronte used to talk to the eggs everyday, something about bonding better with the newborns. Maybe it recognises the call of the Luxio?" Seth thought aloud.

Meanwhile, Sarah had convinced Blue to battle, but he still looked a bit shaken.

"Blue, use bite!" Sarah told him hesitantly. Blue hurried over to Cell, bit him in one swift movement then quickly ran to the other side of the arena, out of the Luxio's reach.

"Oh for goodness sake. Cell, just bite that thing," Kristy sighed, folding her arms in irritation. The Luxio bared its teeth menacingly and ran at Blue, who's eyes widened in fear as the electric pokemon ran at him, then he took off to try and avoid the attack. He was no where near as fast as the Luxio however, and it leapt up, the sharp fangs inches from Blues face. With a shriek of terror, the Wartortle withdrew sharply into his shell and Cell face planted the floor. Cell sprang back up and growled even more savagely at the large brown shell that lay shivering on the floor.

"Okay Cell, just keep shocking it!" Kristy yelled. Cell seemed positively delighted at this command and readied a powerful spark, ready to launch at the water pokemon when a voice echoed through the gym, halting the action.

"Wait! This is unfair, can't you see he's absolutely terrified?" Hayley stood up, outraged at Kristy's brutality. She then ran down the steps to stand in front of Sarah.

"She recognises that things voice from the attack on her family," Hayley told Sarah. With a small gasp, Sarah hurried over to her pokemon and coaxed him out of his shell.

"Hey little guy. Look, I know what happened scared you, but I tell you what. You defeat this thing for you family. Think of it as... Well I would say revenge but that sounds a bit violent. Think of it as getting even," Sarah finished, looking into Blue's eyes. Something seemed to shift within them, a haze cleared and his eyes shone with a newfound determination. He turned his head to glare at his opponent then shooed Sarah back to where she was supposed to stand. He then jumped and turned on the spot to face Cell.

"Isn't that cheating?" one of the gym trainers piped up from the stands. Kristy turned to glare at the trainer,

"Actually no it isn't, the rules clearly state that if a pokemon is distressed or otherwise distracted to the point that it affects the battle then the trainer can intervene at any time. If the trainer thinks the pokemon can battle, then the battle continues, if not the challenger can officially retire without any repercussion!" she said in a low tone, trying to keep her patience with the learning kid, who shrank back down in their seat.

"_Anyway, _can we get back to our battle now?" she sighed. Blue grinned in response and resumed his battle stance.

"Okay. Cell, use spark!" Kristy yelled. The Luxio charged recklessly at Blue, his fur bristling with electricity. Blue stood his ground and withstood the charged tackle, wincing as Cell collided with him. He grabbed the Luxio with his hands then bit down into its neck, causing it to cry out in pain. Blue then threw it down into the hole before shooting numerous aqua jets at it.

"Blue, Blue stop!" Sarah screamed out, "The water'll just amplify it's electricity!"

Upon hearing this, Blue immediately stopped and edged away from the hole, fearing the unmistakeable noise of crackling electricity as Cell charged up his coat with static, ready to unleash his fury. Blues eyes widened a split second before a breathtaking spear of energy shot straight up, streams of it thrashing off, whipping at everyone within range, luckily the rubber pads they were standing on grounded the electricity and the seats in the stands were also lined with rubber. But the battle area wasn't. Which meant that Blue took the full brunt of the attack. Sarah felt a scream escape her mouth as she watched the lightning forks channeling into her Wartortle. After the electricity had all been conducted away, Cell dragged himself wearily out of the hole and a faint blue glow was being emitted from Blue's shell. Suddenly, he jumped up, emerging from his shell with no more than a scratch on him, the light dying away as he did so.  
"Yes! You clever, clever pokemon! You used protect all by yourself! You are brilliant! Now use a bite!" Sarah cheered in relief as her Wartortle launched himself at Cell, who was too tired to dodge. The Luxio fell underneath the force of Blue's attack and couldn't muster enough strength to get back up. With a gasp, Kristy ran over and scooped her pokemon up, kissed him lightly on the head then returned him. She then turned to Sarah,

"I have to say, that was a really good battle. Here, you deserve this badge," she said with admiration. Sarah accepted it gratefully,

"Thank you so mu-" she was cut off short when Hayley jumped her from behind,

"You won! You won!" she squealed, hugging her with excitement.

"Dude, let her breathe," Seth laughed, pulling Hayley off Sarah,  
"That was such a brilliant battle. I have to say I thought Blue was beat for a minute there," he smirked. Blue smiled at Seth before dousing him with another jet of water,

"Aw man, you're really gonna have to stop doing that," he muttered, shaking drops of water out of his hair.

"He's just a big softie," Sarah cooed, giving him a big hug. Blue revelled in all the attention,

"He sure hates the Luxray family though," Hayley laughed. At that moment, the gym doors opened and Kaleb came running in yelling,

"Guys, guys! Guess which pokemon I just caught?"


	37. A Figure in the Dark

Becoming The Best

Chapter 37

"Are you kidding me?" Sarah said as Kaleb walked in with a Luxio strutting behind him.

"Nope, how cute is she?" he said, picking it up and cuddling her,

"You nincompoop," Hayley sighed, shaking her head at Kaleb, who was looking around in bewilderment, wondering why everyone was staring at him funnily,

"What?" he asked,

"I need to take my pokemon to the centre," Sarah sighed, walking off. As she and Blue passed Kaleb and his new pokemon, Blue spurted a jet of water at the Luxio. She growled and jumped down, ready to pounce,

"Woah, Sphynx calm down," Kaleb tried to soothe his pokemon, but it didn't work. She charged up her fur then leapt at Blue, who was quickly picked up (with difficulty; he was pretty big) by Sarah.

"Pokecentre. Now," she told Blue sternly, then carried him roughly out.

"Well at least it's not just Churro who starts fights," Hayley shrugged.

* * *

"I want a ground type now," Sarah said stubbornly,

"That's a little harsh!" Kaleb argued,

"No it's not. I want a ground type so that when 'Sphynx' attacks my pokemon it can just use magnitude or something on her," she stated, inserting finger quotation marks as she said the word 'Sphynx'.

"But... That's not fair! Look they'll learn to deal with eachother,"

"Blue's family was murdered by a group of those things," Sarah spat, pointing at a random spot in her frustration. Unfortunately, she happened to point at a trainer, who took the gesture as a challenge.

"Yes I'll battle you," the kid said cockily, tossing a pokeball up and down in his hand.

"Look kid I'm not in the mood," Sarah spat,

"I don't care, rules are rules and you have to battle me," he persisted. Sarah spun around and towered over the small kid,

"Fine, you want a fight? Send out your damn pokemon then!" the kid looked a bit taken aback, but sent out his pokemon nonetheless. A Butterfree appeared before her, so she took out Air's pokeball.

"Air, use gust and get rid of that annoying trainer" Sarah yelled, her face screwing up in anger as she said it, causing Kaleb to start laughing. The gust knocked out the Butterfree with one hit and the boy shuffled off in embarrassment, then Sarah turned on Kaleb.

"What the _heck _are you laughing at?"

"You," he sniggered,  
"Fine, you laugh all you like but it won't be that when my new pokemon totally pounds you into the ground!" she snapped, before storming off in search of a ground pokemon.

"Sheesh, who pissed in her cornflakes?" Kaleb muttered before turning to walk back into Lenka town.

* * *

Out in the woods, Sarah was walking along with Arcane and Blue by her side. Blue was sticking to Arcane's side like glue, which annoyed the Growlithe, but he decided it was better than having a Squirtle sitting on his back.

"Look, if you see any sort of ground type, tell me," Sarah told them carefully, looking around as she spoke. As she said it though, she realised that she was in the middle of a bunch of trees. Ground pokemon probably wouldn't be in a bunch of trees.

"Well, I officially have no idea where the heck to look next," she sighed, sitting down on the ground.

"Well no one ever got anywhere sitting around doing nothing," a voice behind her said. Turning around, Sarah saw her sister walking towards her,

"What do you want?" Sarah groaned,

"You just walked off on me in the cafe, what was up with that?" she asked,  
"I didn't want to talk to you," Sarah muttered,

"Well I just thought I'd find you to tell you I'm going back to Quena Town today," she mumbled, scuffing her feet along the ground, getting her shoes muddy. A frown crossed Sarah's face-her sister hated dirt,

"Daisy, are you okay?" she asked hesitantly,

"Yeah. It's just. You're my little sister," she mumbled,

"And...," Sarah half laughed,  
"You're growing up," her voice was barely above a whisper and she pulled her sister into a hug,

"Don't worry about me Daisy," Sarah told her gently, hugging her back.  
"Well, I best get going. Make sure you come see me when you pass through Quena right?" Daisy told her, standing up.

"... Okay," Sarah smiled. She then watched her sister walk away and her thoughts turned to her family. Her parents. She had left Greensand without her parents even knowing.

_I wonder if they're okay..._

"Daisy wait up!" she yelled, stumbling in the direction her sister had set off.

"Yeah," a voice called back,

"Can you ring mam and dad and tell them I'm okay please? And... can you tell them I love them?"

"Will do little sis," her voice floated back. Sarah smiled into the trees and lay back on the grass. She realised that it had been a long day; she had woken up at 5:00am to cram in some more training before she faced the gym, and it was now about 7:00pm. As she lay, the sun shone through the trees and warmed her face. Arcane lay across her stomach and Blue lay back, basking in the warm sunlight. Pretty soon, they had all fallen asleep.

* * *

Night fell like a curtain; blanketing the town in its smothering darkness, clouds shrouded the sky, obscuring the view of the stars.  
"Where's Sarah?" Hayley asked, looking around the crowded lobby,

"Yeah, I haven't seen her for a while," Seth added,  
"Well... She went out to look for a pokemon," Kaleb mumbled,

"Ohmygosh! What if she's dead?" Hayley exclaimed, a note of panic in her voice,

"Don't be stupid, she won't be dead," Seth frowned at her,

"But what if something's wrong?" Hayley said quietly, still panicking silently,

"She's right man, why else would she be gone this long?" Kaleb said,  
"Okay, you two go look for her, I'll wait here incase she arrives when you're gone," Seth said, lying back on the couch he was sitting on,

"Seriously though Seth, what if she's dead?" Hayley whimpered,

"Look, just let him do what he wants. Jerk," Kaleb retorted, then walked out of the centre into the night, followed by Hayley.

"She'll be fine," Seth muttered to himself, then closed his eyes.

* * *

"Eurgh this bed is so uncomfortable," Sarah groaned as she rolled over onto her side. She reached out to grab her pillow, but her hands fell on the spiky grass. She jumped up with a shock, looking around at the woods. Arcane fell off her stomach as she got up and landed on top of Blue with a bump,

"What? A wood? How did I manage that?" she complained to herself. Blue then started to laugh incessantly while Arcane grumbled, annoyed at having started off the Wartortles laughing.

"Great. I don't even remember which way to go," she grumbled, dusting stray grass from her clothes.

"Blue, I'm going to have to return you, I don't want you getting lost," she mumbled, bringing out his pokeball. Just as she was about to return Blue, the pokeball was flung from her hand as she was tackled to the ground, a crushing weight pressing down on her back. In an instant, Arcane tackled the attacker, knocking it from Sarah's back, but something else then jumped on Arcane. Blue let out a roar and rushed forward to help Arcane. Sarah closed her eyes and crawled through the undergrowth, trying to get a safe distance away from the scuffle, when she felt something unnatural. She looked up and saw a person standing before her.

"Crap," she muttered. Her heart dropped as she was dragged to her feet to stand before the person in front of her.

"Where's the boy?" the rasping voice sounded, Sarah tried to look into the face of the person, but it was shielded by a long, hooded cloak.

"Who are you?" Sarah asked, her voice small and wavering. A hand shot out and closed around Sarah's throat, pinning her to a tree,

"Tell me where he is!"  
"I don't know who you're talking about!" Sarah gasped, scrabbling at the hand around her throat,

"Yes you do, the one with the dark and the psychic," the voice was weak and raspy, but harsh at the same time. Sarah felt her stomach churn as she realised who this person was talking about.

Seth.


	38. Learning to Trust

Becoming The Best

Chapter 38

"Now, tell me where he is," the voice croaked. racking her brain, Sarah weighed up the pros and cons of telling this person about Seth. She could just deny any knowledge of his existance, this person seemed to be dangerous, and who knows what they would do if they found him. She felt the grip tighten on her throat after she hadn't spoken for a while,

"Ouch! Please, throat, hurts," Sarah gasped, she was finding it hard to breathe. The stranger loosened their grip on her throat,

"Talk," the person demanded,

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sarah breathed, staring at where she thought the strangers eyes would be,

"You lie! Tell me the truth!" the strangers voice turned even harsher and the grip tightened more so than it had previously. The pressure on her throat was too much and she couldn't speak, black dots buzzed in front of her eyes and she felt herself drifting out of consiousness. She clenched her jaw and reached down to her belt for a pokeball.

"Sadie!" the voice rang out harshly and a Sableye appeared, grabbing Sarah's hand before she could call out any of her pokemon for help.

"Your pokemon are powerless against mine, I am too strong!" the stranger said, roughly letting go of her throat. Collapsing into the ground gasping for air, she looked at her pokemon. Arcane was held up against a tree by a Starmie, while Blue was trapped in a Victreebells vines, neither were being attacked, but neither could move at the same time. She caught Arcane's eyes; full of pain and disappointment, then the black dots shrouded over her vision and she blacked out.

* * *

A bright light pierced through the haze of darkness, Sarah opened her eyes to see a white ceiling staring down at her-a ceiling she was begining to get too familiar with.

"What happened this time?" she muttered, as she tried to sit up, but her head pounded and she had to lie back down as her memory slowly came back to her. With the memories also came fear. What if that person came back?

"I gotta get out of here," she panicked, sitting up, ignoring her pounding headache as she did so. Her clothes and pokemon were (as usual) on a bedside cabinet, all six of them thankfully, so she quickly got changed and headed out the door.

"Excuse me, where are you going young lady?" Nurse Joy asked as she saw Sarah stumbling out of her room,

"I've got to leave," she muttered, pushing past her to get out. Kaleb and Hayley were waiting just outside her room and rushed up to her once they saw her,

"Are you okay?" they gushed,

"I need to get away," Sarah said, ignoring their questions and protests. She continued walking until she got to the lobby and made a beeline for the door.

"Hey!" the voice stopped her in her tracks. She turned to look at Seth jumping up off a settee and walking over to her,

"Where are you going? Shouldn't you be resting?" he asked.

"No, Seth you have to get out of here!" Sarah pleaded, pulling his arm to try and drag him away,

"Woah, hang on a minute. What do you mean?" Seth asked in alarm, pulling away from Sarah and looking at her in shock,

"I'll tell you later, we just have to get away!" she cried and this time, Seth let himself get dragged away. Kaleb and Hayley ran over to stop them, but Sarah spun around and stared at them, fear in her eyes.

"Please, I have to go," she begged.

"I got that before, but _why_?" Kaleb sighed in exasperation.

"There's no time to explain," Sarah cried, then dragged Seth out, followed by the others.

After half running, half walking for the past half hour or so, Sarah eventually stopped at a dusty plateu, overlooking a blue pool. She collapsed onto the floor, panting and holding her side, a pain stabbing at her where her sticthes were.

"Are you okay?" Hayley asked worriedly, kneeling down next to her,

"Yeah, yeah. Running just isn't my thing," she answered.

"Okay, can you explain what happened now?" Kaleb asked forcefully,

"I...," Sarah trailed off and looked over at Seth. She didn't really want to tell anyone else in case something very bad was happening. Seth met her gaze, sensing that something was up.

"Guys, can you not give her some space?" he said, a polite way of telling them to get lost,

"Nuh uh! I wanna know what happened!" Hayley argued childishly,

"Me too," Kaleb stated, folding his arms in defiance.

"Please, I need to talk to Seth," Sarah told them, looking down at the ground. Kaleb didn't say anything, but stalked away in a silent huff. Hayley just sighed and followed Kaleb.  
"So what happened?" Seth muttered, sitting alongside her on the ground.

"There was a person," she trailed off, not knowing where to go from there,

"I know that part, Joy said something about you being strangled. How did that happen?" he replied, staring into her eyes suspiciously,

"They were looking for you Seth," she felt her voice break as she said it, a lump formed in her throat and tears burned her eyes. Images of the cloaked stranger intruded her mind, and fear took hold. Convulsing with shivers, she leant up against Seth and started to cry. She couldn't remember crying like that since she was a little kid, but she couldn't stop the tears from falling. Seth put his arms around her, but couldn't really comprehend what she had just said.

"Me?" his voice was an echo, void of any emotion

"I'm sorry," Sarah whimpered, closing her eyes shut,

"Did you see their face?" he asked. Sarah shook her head in response. With a sigh, he rested his head on hers,

"Look, don't worry about it,"

"But Seth, the pokemon, they were really strong. There's no way we could even try and protect ourselves if that person came back!" Sarah sat back and stared at him,

"Well we'll just have to train then," he replied, meeting her panicky gaze calmly,  
"Training takes time though,"

"Look, if that person ever comes back, we'll be ready," he said firmly.

"How can you say that? How do you know?"  
"Sarah listen to me," he said, turning to look at her, holding her arms to make sure she was listening, "I will make sure that person won't hurt you again. We'll train our pokemon so we are strong enough, but if not... Well if it's me they want then it's me they get. I won't let anyone else get hurt if I can help it," he promised her. Doubt passed through Sarah's mind, but she saw the sincerity in his eyes and she knew he wasn't lying.

"Okay. I... I trust you," she sniffed.

"Good. Now, didn't you want a new pokemon?" he asked, brightening up.

"Yeah," Sarah said, smiling and wiping her eyes.

"What you waiting for then? Let's go catch a pokemon," he grinned, pulling her up. She stood up, new determination shining in her eyes. Wiping her eyes one last time, she nodded her head and went off to find her new pokemon, not by herself this time though.


	39. Defiant Electric

Becoming The Best

Chapter 39

"There's one!" Kaleb shouted, pointing to a small browny pokemon scrabbling at some dirt,  
"I don't want one of those though," Sarah wrinkled her nose up at the pokemon,

"Hey, they're cute!" Hayley defended,

"Oh, I'm not denying that, I just don't want one," she mended, looking at the pokemon as it stood up, "Sandshrews just aren't my thing," she shrugged,

"Oh well, I may aswell battle it though," Kaleb said, setting Polo onto the little Sandshrew,

"That's not fair, poor little thing! It's gorgeous. Leave it alone!" Hayley scolded him, however she wasn't quick enough and Polo sent a weak water gun at it, knocking it backwards into the dirt.  
"Hey!" she cried out, grabbing the Poliwhirl and pulling him backwards. The Sandshrew writhed around in agony on the ground with cries of pain.

"The poor thing, it needs help," she said in concern,

"Catch it then!" Sarah said loudly, grinning at her own idea,

"What? Really? But... I've only ever had Churro," she frowned. The Marowak snorted in repsonse and walked confidently over to the Sandshrew, bone thrown casually over his shoulder, and sat down next to it with a smile on his face; as if to show that he had no problem with the small mouse like pokemon.

"Oh. I don't have a pokeball though,"

"Here," Seth said, tossing a pokeball in her direction. She caught it (just) and stared at it for a moment, before throwing it at the pokemon. It wiggled a few times before stopping.

"What now?" Hayley said, tentatively edging towards the stationary pokebeball.

"Now you take him to a pokecentre," Sarah smiled,

"How do you know it's a he?" Hayley asked,

"I don't... Hey, we could check him with my pokedex," Sarah smiled,

"Again with the 'he'. And anyway, I don't know if you remember but you dragged us off into the middle of nowhere and I have no idea where the nearest pokecentre is," Hayley pointed out, looking around at the baron land about them.

"Yeah well... Just 'cause I'm cool!" she stuck her tongue out,

"Here, I have a potion," Seth threw her a potion from his bag.

"Oh, thanks," she half smiled. Inside she felt strange, Churro had been her only pokemon she had ever had (hence the reason he was so strong) and she wasn't sure how a new pokemon would affect their relationship. With a sigh, she picked up the pokeball and released the whimpering creature, who curled up into a ball and cried.

"Aww, poor thing! Here, have this potion," her fears melted away when she saw the cowering pokemon and sprayed it with the soothing liquid. The Sandshrew let out a contented sigh and unfurled, gazing up at it's new trainer.

"It's a girl," Sarah informed a now excited Hayley, who was bouncing on the spot as she tried to think of a nickname,  
"Well I have Churro so what about... Pretzel!" she exlaimed, jumping up and down while clapping her hands,

"Pretzel? Sounds like a boy name," Kaleb muttered,

"I don't care, she's called Pretzel," Hayley giggled as she tickled the pokemon under the chin.

"I s'pose it's better than anything Sarah could come up with," he sniggered, causing Sarah to shove him.

"That little kid's gonna need some training," Sarah nodded towards Pretzel. The Sandshrew was rolling around on the floor.

"Why?" Hayley looked up,

"She's only level 16,"

"So? I didn't purposefully train Churro-he just kind of... Did," Hayley mumbled.

"But... Ah whatever," Sarah waved her hand as if to brush the subject aside and set her sights on looking for another pokemon.  
"It would help if I knew what I wanted," she murmered,

"Well why don't you send Air out to scan the landscape for a pokemon?" Seth suggested.

"OOO, awesome idea!" Sarah grinned. So she threw Air's pokeball high up into the air, releasing her majestic bird.

"Air, can you go look for a ground pokemon please? But don't go too far, obviously I mean I'll have to follow you once you've... Actually just do what you want, I trust you,"

"Hang on!" Seth called out, halting the Pidgeotto in it's flight, "Maybe I should send Blair out with her. I mean, if she comes across an angry rock pokemon then she could be in some trouble. Plus, Blair loves her,"

"Hey, good idea,"

A few seconds later and Blair was jumping up and down happily on Air's back while waving her arms wildly down at the trainers as she flew off into the distance with Air.

"So what do we do now?" Kaleb asked, bored out of his mind.

"I don't know. What is there to do in the middle of nowhere?" Hayley replied,

"Well I'm bored. What can we do?" Kaleb repeated,

"We can sunbathe," Hayley shrugged,

"I don't want to freakin' sunbathe, that's so boring! I don't even see why we had to get dragged out here in the first place!" Kaleb burst out, turning to glare at Sarah.

"You little freak! If you want to go then set yourself away!" Sarah snarled at him, he obviously didn't understand what it was like to be _strangled _did he?

"What? Aww bloody heck, don't go all moody on me again," he sighed,

"I'm not being moody, you're just being an inconsiderate jerk!"

"No I'm not, you're a bratty little kid! You shouldn't even be here, you should be back home!" Kaleb shouted,

"Yeah? Well I'm a better trainer than you any day," Sarah snorted,

"You wanna bet?" he narrowed his eyes in a challenge. Arcane growled viciously in response,

"Send out your pokemon then," Sarah growled, sounding awfully alike to her Growlithe.

"Fine, Ellie go stomp that mutt," Kaleb glowered,

"Well I didn't actually say Arcane was fighting this round. Blue, you're on for this one," Sarah smiled slyly, Blue stepping forward with a smile on his own face.

"That's unfair!" Kaleb protested,

"Suck it up and battle, dumbass," Sarah retorted, "Blue just use water gun,"

The Wartortle shot a powerful water gun at the Phanphy, who recoiled at the wet stuff, before snorting and preparing a rollout, but Blue swiftly intercepted it with another water gun, sending the Phanphy down.

"See, you are so going down now," Sarah smirked,

"Yeah? Well let's see how you get past Sphynx!" he sneered, sending out his Luxio. Blue took a suprised step back, but immediately scowled at his opponent and took two steps forward, his tail swishing menacingly. Sphynx bared her teeth in a cute grin and lowered her head as if stalking some pray.

"Use spark!" Kaleb yelled and the Luxio ran at Blue, her fur charged with crackling energy. The impact was critical and Blue fell to the floor, but he refused to be beaten, with a mighty roar he leapt at Sphynx and bit her neck before twirling into a rapid spin, his mouth still enclosed around the Luxio. A cry of pain sounded from the electric pokemon, closely followed by a surge of electricity, blasting Blue backwards. He struggled but stood firmly on his feet, his stubborness prevailing through the pain.

"Finish it off Sphynx!" Kaleb shouted, and a flash of electricity bolted at Blue, knocking him over for the last time.

"Damn it," Sarah cursed, ready to pull out her next pokeball. A bright light destracted her, and she looked to see Sphynx glowing and growing.  
"Yes! She's evolving!" Kaleb shouted, jumping up and down in glee,

"Oh great," Sarah rolled her eyes as a newly evolved Luxray threw it's shaggy mane over it's head and grinned smugly at her.  
"Well Zen, you will surely come in handy here," Sarah smiled, secretly confident that her Jolteon's volt absorb would be Sphynx's downfall,

"Sphynx, use roar," Kaleb smirked in repsonse, wise to Sarah's trick. The beast of a pokemon let out a terrifying, ear-splitting roar and Zen looked fearfully at the Luxray before slowly backing away. Arcane barked fiestily and bounded forward, unfazed by the large pokemon infront of him.

"Sphynx, use bite!" Kaleb ordered. Spyhnx tossed her hair and smirked at her trainer, before letting loose a thundering bolt of energy straight at Arcane, who only just managed to dodge. He narrowed his eyes at his reckless opponent and growled.

"Guys, you should stop now. Having fainted pokemon out here isn't going to be any use," Seth reasoned. Arcane stopped in his tracks and looked questioningly at Seth,

"Stay out of this, a battle is a battle," Kaleb hissed, while Sphynx took advantage of the distracted Growlithe and launched a vicious bite his way. Arcane growled and flared up, fire spinning around his body and warding the Luxray off him. With fire streaming around him, the Growlithe launched himself at Sphynx,  
"Stop him with a shock," Kaleb said, but the Luxray ignored him and bit down again on his head, ignoring the searing pain until the Growlithe stopped kicking, she then spat Arcane onto the ground, a defiant look in her eye.

"Kaleb, I think erm... I think maybe you should return her," Sarah said hesitantly, looking fearfully at the violent creature in front of her,

"No, no she's just getting into the battle. C'mon, let's keep going," he said, seeming thirsty for more battle.

"Kaleb I really think we should stop," she insisted. A cry out in the sky attracted their attention and Air swooped down and landed in front of Sarah, Blair on her back. The dragon jumped off her back and seemed to dust herself off, then ran over to her trainer, looking excited with pointing and squeals. Air cawed lightly at her trainer and unfortunately Sphynx took it as a challenge. With another roar, she sent a bolt of lightning at Air, knocking her unconcious straight away.

"Air!" the strangled cry erupted from Sarah's mouth as she ran to her pokemon and hugged her,

"That was cruel, she wasn't even ready to battle!" she spat venemously at Kaleb. Hayley gasped, bringing the situation to Seth and Blair. Needless to say, the small dragon was furious and ran at the Luxray with a cry of rage. Sphynx flung the small pokemon carelessly to the side with her head and then sunk her teeth into her. Blair was about to retaliate, but Seth returned her before she could get harmed any further,

"Recall your pokemon!" Seth bellowed at Kaleb, but the boy just stood, staring open mouthed at his Luxray. Zen was still out of her pokeball and took a step forward, for the first time in her life, she was angry. Just as she was about to leap at the angry Luxray, a noise from underground could be heard and suddenly Sphynx was thrown high into the air before landing on the ground with a thud, ending her rampage.

* * *

_Just like to say, sorry for the fact that most of the pokemon are from Kanto, they're just my favourite for some reason :)_


	40. Seeds of Fear

Becoming The Best

Chapter 40

"Woah, what was _that_?" Hayley cried out, jumping up and staring at the ground, where a small brown head was poking out.  
"Oh my god! It's my new pokemon!" Sarah squealed. In excitement, she threw a pokeball at the pokemon, but it burst straight back out again, looking annoyed.

"Oh I forgot. Zen, use double kick,"

The Jolteon ran forward and kicked at it, leaving it a bit dazed.

"Time for another try," she smiled, throwing another pokeball at it. The pokeball wiggled about for a bit before bursting open again, the look in the pokemon's face was definately angry. It narrowed it's eyes at Zen and the earth around the Jolteon seemed to take on a life of it's own, quaking with an unseen force. Her legs buckling under her, Zen fell to the floor, but after the shaking had stopped she stood up with a gleam in her eye. She ran again at her foe and kicked it hard in the face. It recoiled at the attack and looked even weaker. Sarah took the oppurtunity to throw yet another ball at the creature. She waited with baited breath as it wiggled, and sighed in relief when it calmed down and remained still.

"Wow, I have a new pokemon," she breathed happily.

"Seems like one powerful little guy too," Seth mused, walking over to look at the pokeball.

"Hey, to be fair that thing was super effective and Sphynx had already been beaten up a bit by your pokemon!" Kaleb defended his Luxray, glaring at the small pokeball lying on the floor like it had some sort of killer disease trapped inside it.

"My new pokemon," Sarah said absently, thinking about her now almost-complete team. She wondered what her last pokemon would be and how she would get it. She knew she wouldn't go rushing into it though, she would know which it would be when she saw it. With a smile she held the round ball in her hand, but she couldn't decide on what to do; take her pokemon as quickly as she could to a pokecentre, or let them wait around until she spoke to her new one. The choice seemed pretty obvious.

"We need to find a pokecentre," she stated, pocketing the pokeball and looking at the group,  
"Finally, we're getting somewhere," Kaleb clapped his hands sarcastically then stood up and stretched,

"Quit your whining," Seth quipped, glancing at Kaleb with reproach,

"Both of you stop it. Basically finding a pokecentre will be the best idea, considering your evil Luxray mauled all of Sarah's pokemon. You need some more badges to control that thing. And anyway, Pretzel needs to be healed properly too," Hayley lectured, glaring at each person in turn. She then turned on her heel and started walking, Churro and Pretzel at her sides. Seth and Kaleb both looked at her in shock whereas Sarah just smiled and slapped them on their backs,

"This is why girls rule," she smirked, then walked briskly to catch up with Hayley.

* * *

A few hours of walking, the group came across a small pond basked in sunlight and decided to stop for a rest.

"It's starting to get dark, maybe we should stop here for the night," Seth yawned, looking up at the darkening sky,

"But, what about my pokemon?" Sarah whined,

"Look, they just can't battle. Let them out and after a good sleep they'll be fine to walk and stuff, but make sure they don't get in any battles," Seth told her as he lay down on the ground.

"Do you seriously expect us to sleep on the ground?" Kaleb protested, looking at the dusty terrain,

"You got a better idea?" Seth shot back,

"I really don't think I should let them out of their pokeballs," Sarah muttered,

"I'll get all dirty," Kaleb was still whining,

"All of you, just shut up!" Hayley yelled, shocking them all into silence, "Good. Now let's just get some sleep then start walking again tomorrow. Sarah your pokemon will be fine and Kaleb, you sound like a girl when you go on like that,"

And just like that, they got ready to go to sleep. Sarah lay down on the ground and her fears came rushing back to her, what if that person came back? She shook her head as she tried to shake the thought out of it and squeezed her eyes shut, eventually falling asleep.

She awoke with a start. She had been sure she had heard something, some_one _maybe. Without any pokemon out, Sarah felt extremely vulnerable and hugged her bag closely, her pokeballs inside, as she stared out into the darkness. Straining her ears, she listened intently for any kind of noise to show she wasn't going crazy.

_Being crazy is probably better than being stalked by a lunatic though. _She told herself. Then she heard it. Footsteps that were coming towards her. Fear took hold and she froze to the spot, her muscles locked around her bag as she stared fearfully in the direction of the footsteps.

"But we can't _do _that," a voice sounded from the darkness and Sarah relaxed, she knew that voice. She sighed in relief but then looked around to make sure it was him. Only two people were lying asleep on the ground, it had to be Seth, but who was he talking to?

"Look we can't just go running head long into danger, we don't know what's gonna happen. It'll be best if we just wait, train up and get stronger, make sure we're ready for when something happens," he spoke firmly, then a yowl could be heard, sounding like it came from his Espeon. So he was talking to his pokemon.

"Psycho, we have to be patient! Don't worry we will find her. My family will not have died in vain," Seth muttered in a dark voice, sending shivers down Sarah's spine. She then realised how little she knew about him, and that thought was begining to scare her...

* * *

_Sorry for the shortness of this chapter, but it just seemed.. Right, to end it there._


	41. Grounded

Becoming The Best

Chapter 41

The walk to the nearest pokecentre was a long one and it took nearly the whole day. Kaleb, Seth and Hayley were all talking (and bickering) as usual, but Sarah was unusally quiet. Her thoughts were filled with what she had heard last night and she was thinking of everything about him-his reluctance to talk about his past, that stranger who seemed intent on finding him and what she heard last night. Not to mention that conversation she had overheard between him and the old lady, that she hadn't been telling him the full story. That must mean she knew something. The more she thought about it, the more she convinced herself that he had a secret-that much was obvious. The question was: What was he planning to do?

A few hours into the journey, Sarah hadn't said a word. In fact she hadn't spoken at all since they had all woken up.

"Dude, are you okay?" Kaleb asked her, but Sarah didn't even hear him, "Hey, Sarah," he said, pulling her out of her thoughts,  
"Yeah?" she asked absently, as if she wasn't really listening,

"What's up with you?"

"Nothing," she shook her head and looked down at her feet while she walked, turning back to her thoughts.

"Are you in a mood with me for winning that battle?" he asked anxiously; it really wasn't like Sarah to be so quiet and being as she wasn't listening to him, she nodded her head,

"Seriously?" he said stonily. Hayley sighed and answered,

"Kaleb she isn't _actually _listening to you,"

"What? How do you know?"

"Guys really are clueless," Hayley rolled her eyes at him. Seth didn't participate in that conversation, he too had noticed Sarah's lack of speaking, but put it down to 'some girl thing' as he thought. How wrong he was.

After the day of travelling, they eventually stumbled upon the foot of a huge mountain. Carved into it was a deep entrance and along the top the words 'City of Dust' were engraved and for the first time all day, Sarah spoke.

"That is such an ominous name," she said, gazing up at the engraved words.

"It's an ancient city, the oldest left in Sentas," Seth informed them, in awe of the fact he was about to set foot in a city that held so much history.

"C'mon then, let's go in!" Kaleb said impatiently and walked in. The others followed, their breath catching in their throats as they looked around. There were buildings carved into the rock face everywhere, the ground was cold and smooth with paths leading up to higher levels of more rock buildings. Lanterns of stone were hung up, their flames the only light within the darkness of the mountain. Most of the pokemon that were at people's sides were fire, there were quite a lot of Charmander, which struck Sarah as slightly odd, considering they were supposed to be rare. Houndoom and Houndour also seemed popular in the city-the younger ones were running around and playing while the Houndoom were padding around, looking sophisticated and calm. She also spotted the odd Aggron plodding along; the city seemed to have a perfect balance of humans and pokemon living in harmony.

"Arcane is going to love this place," Sarah smiled, starting to get back to her usual self.

"I think Pretzel and Churro already do," Hayley giggled. Sarah glanced over at the Marowak and the Sanshrew. Pretzel was rolling around in a ball and chuckling to herself while Churro was tapping stray boulders with his bone as if to test their strength,

"Where's the pokecentre?" Sarah asked, she was getting impatient and wanted her pokemon healed so she could explore this new city. Seth looked around and pointed to a large stone pokeball that was standing outside of a large building, up on a higher level of the rock.

"I guess that's probably it," he suggested. Kaleb ran off without a word towards the building, eager to get going while Sarah took it at a more leisurely pace.

* * *

With a team of newly healed pokemon, the group went to explore the City of Dust, but Hayley stopped them.

"Guys, it's been a really long day and it's dark out. I think we should get some rest and have a look around tomorrow," she said.

"You know... That's probably a good idea," Kaleb agreed. So they turned around and entered the pokecentre again then went to their rooms. Sarah had refused the option to share a room with Hayley, she preffered to have some time where she could be alone with her thoughts. She released all of her pokemon apart from her new addition, (she wanted to introduce it to her others at the right time) so they could rest out of their pokeballs for the night then she lay back on the bed. Despite having travelled all day without much sleep at all, Sarah didn't feel tired. She wanted to find out what Seth was planning and she thought that knowing what had happened to him would help her to understand and possibly figure out what he was up to. The obvious option would be to just ask Seth, but something told her that wouldn't be a good idea. The only other thing she could think of would be to contact the old lady again; even though she scared her. Her thoughts were interrupted when Blue jumped onto her stomach, knocking the breath straight out of her,

"Gah, Blue please!" she gasped, pushing the Wartortle off her. Arcane then jumped up and licked her face while Zen alighted the bed and curled up next to her. Air (not wanting to be left out) decided to fly up and perch herself on Sarah's head.

"I take it you guys aren't tired either?" she laughed. Her team all sounded their approval and Arcane ran to the door then scratched at it.

"Okay, okay. Let's go for a midnight stroll," Sarah smiled.

Sarah and her pokemon had been walking for a few minutes when Sarah realised she would have to get to know her new pokemon pretty soon. She climbed down to a secluded slab of stone and sat her pokemon in a cirlce.

"I have a new pokemon for you guys to meet," she said nervously, bringing out the pokeball. Blue ran forward in excitement and went to grab the pokeball out of Sarah's hand, but Air grabbed his tail in her beak and pulled him backwards. The Wartortle lowered his head as if in apology and sat down next to Arcane and Zen, waiting to see the new addition. Supressing a small giggle, Sarah pointed the pokeball on the ground and a beam of red light shone into the middle of their circle and a small Diglett materialised. It took one look at the pokemon looming over it and hurried to hide behind Sarah, the only person she recognized.

"Aw, it's okay they won't hurt you," Sarah assured the timid creature, coaxing it out gently so it stood in front of her.

"Pokedex time!" she grinned at the Diglett, leaving it looking a bit scared. The pokedex revealed that the Diglett was a female, and relatively weaker than her other pokemon, but not by far.

"Now we need a name for you. Erm you look like a... A chocolate bar? No. Um... Well you could be a martian, you look like you'd like it on Mars. Mars! Hey what about Mars?" Sarah squealed, looking excitedly at the Diglett. The small pokemon cocked it's head at her then nodded slowly.

"Okay _Mars, _let's go train!" Sarah said, walking off deeper into the mountain to look for some wild pokemon.

* * *

Several hours later, (at about two in the morning) Sarah felt she was about to collapse with exhaustion. Mars was now up to par with the rest of the team and was proving to be a great asset.

"Okay, I think it's time we went back to the centre for some rest. I'm officially beat," she half laughed, energy quickly draining from her. As she wound her way through the passageways and rock alley's, she became aware of the sound of footsteps echoing around. She was reminded of the night she was assaulted so she quickly ducked behind a house, Mars close by her side. Shadows danced across the wall she was watching, two people walking close together, one had their arm around the other. She flattened herself against the wall, but when the people came into view, terror froze her blood cold. The hooded figure who was now fear incarnate to Sarah was strolling down the alleyway, pressing something that had a metallic glint in the flaming light onto Seth's throat.

* * *

_Diglett! Just a note about her, I have no idea how a Diglett/Dugtrio is supposed to move around without digging up all the earth around it and creating a like, trail of destruction, so let's just pretend that the gravel at the bottom is actually a part of the Diglett so Mars can go into building and wander around without leaving a trail of earth after her :)_


	42. Revealed

Becoming The Best

Chapter 42

The fear that was beating through her was pushed aside as she realised her friend was in danger.

"Mars, I'm going to return you okay?" she whispered, flinching when she heard her voice echo loudly through the cavernous rocks. The footsteps came to a stop and Sarah froze again, worried about being heard. After holding her breath for a few moments, she heard the footsteps walking away again and sighed in relief, before returning Mars to her pokeball. Arcane stood alert at her heels, his ears pricked for any noise of attackers, while Sarah edged forward to peer around the corner, just as she saw Seth being led around another one.

"C'mon Arcane, we need to follow," Sarah hissed and started to walk after them. She rounded the corner and was suprised when she saw they were gone from sight. Spinning around on the spot, she expected to see them behind, but there was no one there. Not a sound could be heard and she wondered where on earth they had gone. She turned back around and took a cautious step forward, but Arcane nipped at her foot to stop her going any further. Sarah shot him a look as if to say 'what the heck are you doing' and Arcane looked at her, a look she recognised that said 'just trust me'. Sarah rolled her eyes at the Growlithe but stayed rooted to the spot-he was a good pokemon to trust. His paws were silent as they padded across the stone floor, his nose planted on the ground. Stopping suddenly, he crouched backward with bristled fur.

"What is it boy?" Sarah whispered, forgetting how loudly they echoed around the place. Within a second, Arcane leapt back with a growl as the figure appeared in front of them with a flourish,

"Sarah run!" Seth's voice revebrated around the caverns. Her thoughts felt foggy and muffled as she turned to run, but her feet tripped over eachother and she felt the face connect with the cold floor. She was confused and tried to pull herself to her feet, but a hand wrapped around her ankle and pulled her back. Arcane surged forward and hurled himself at the person, biting into them while Sarah found her feet. Instead of taking Seth's advice, she stumbled forward to see him and maybe even try to help him get away, only to be confronted by a muscley Hitmonlee who had been pinning Seth to the wall. It spun around to look at Sarah and promptly kicked her in the face. Once again, the stoney floor impacted her head, making her sight go fuzzy. She saw Arcane fighting a losing battle against the person's Starmie and couldn't bear the thought of him being defeated like that, he had to get away.

"Arcane, run!" she cried out. Arcane looked at her with pain in his eyes, not wanting to abandon his trainer at such a dangerous time,

"Arcane, you will find me again, just _run!_" she assured him. He couldn't disobey his trainer, he trusted her way too much so instead he turned and with a bounce of his tail he was gone. Tears blurred Sarah's already fuzzy vision and she watched the hodded figure stand over her,

"Do not interfere, you may get hurt," the raspy voice said harshly, before harshly grabbing Seth and walking away with him,

"No!"

With the little strength she had left, Sarah reached out and grabbed the cloak of the person, and it fell off into her hand, revealing a face; white as a sheet and disfigured with scars, framed by golden curls. Silence fell, casting an eerie atmoshphere around the dusty backstreet. There was one thing that stood out most about the woman's face, above the scars that gnarled her face; it was her eyes. The eyes that looked too familiar...

* * *

The orange dog ran steadily through the streets, his eyes were wet; making his fur sting. Pushing his eyes closed, he kept on running using his other senses to guide him. Without his trainer though, he felt at a loss and didn't know what to do. He opened his eyes again and looked around, then he saw a small alcove behind some houses to curl up in. With a heavy heart, he curled up and let the tears roll down his face, dripping onto his fur, dampening it and making it look as though he was rusting. The Growlithe felt alone and vulnerable, not daring to go against his trainers orders by going back, but not daring to go much further, in case he never got her back.

* * *

"No way. No freaking way!" Seth's voice broke the silence as he stared at the woman in front of him.

"I'm sorry you had to find out this way," the woman whispered, all harshness had vanished and was replaced with what Sarah identified as sadness. Her mind got even more confused as she wondered what was happening.

"But... You. You _died_!" he gasped.

"No. I was the only one who survived. Look, we should talk... Elsewhere," she sneered at Sarah as she said the last word, obviously not wanting to talk in front of her, or just thinking she was too worthless to be associated with her.

"But, what's with the secrecy? And the whole... Holding a knife to my throat? What the heck was that?" Seth shouted,

"I... I needed you to listen to me," the woman whispered again.

"Yeah, 'coz sitting down and talking is _so _last year," Sarah muttered as she stood up giddily from the floor.

"Silence fool!" the woman hissed and lashed out with her hand, striking Sarah across the face with more force than she would have thought possible-she was sent sprawling across the floor again.  
"Hey, don't do that!" Seth snapped, helping Sarah up.

"Look, please can you explain this weird stuff later? My Growlithe is somewhere out there and I need to go get him," Sarah glowered and turned to walk off when she realised that no one was following her,

"What? You're staying here? With her?" she said bitterly, looking at the middle ages woman,  
"There's some stuff I need to talk about," Seth sighed, looking from Sarah to the woman with stress in his eyes. She couldn't fathom what had happened that made the woman go from hostile to civil in such a short amount of time, but it must have been important.

"Not as important as Arcane," she muttered to herself, then turned to run off and look for her precious Growlithe. As she did so however, the Hitmonlee moved so he was infront of her and she couldn't get past.

"Don't think you'll get away so easily," the woman sneered.

* * *

_Sorry for the lack of updates, but I've got exams nearly everyday, but none until next week so yey! But I have work experience next week so I may not update much then either =S_

___P.S. Bree and Psycho have been returned to their pokeballs in this chapter, hence their lack of... prescence.  
And thanks for reading :)_


	43. Cloaked

_I'm so so sorry I haven't updated in so long, but my charger has broken on my laptop so I can't really write any :(__This is a short chapter, but it's kind of needed and it'll explain enough.  
Oh, Guy164, Churro is lvl 41, so he's alot higher than the rest of them.  
Again, sorry for the lack of updates and there probably won't be any for a while but I won't give up on it mind! Hope you enjoy this chapter :)_

* * *

Chapter 43

Seth sat on his bed for a while, unmoving and silent, but awake. He could sense that Bree and Psycho were also awake (Blair was in her poke ball), so he stood up and walked to the door.

"I've been thinking," he said slowly. His two pokemon looked up at him,

"I think we need another team mate," he finished, waiting for their reactions. Bree made no indication to a yes or no, but Psycho jumped up, a smile toying around his mouth.

"Let's go then," Seth smiled.

After what seemed like hours of wandering around, Seth concluded that all of the pokemon must be asleep and, stifling a yawn, decided to go back to the poke centre for at least a few hours sleep. He wound through the dusty streets, his pokemon silently padding ahead of him, when Bree suddenly froze, her ears poker straight-listening for a noise. Psycho sensed his sister's stress and crouched, ready to pounce. His heart beating faster, Seth paused, wondering what his pokemon had seen, when a shadow loomed in front of them; denser than the surrounding darkness. Glittering stones seemed to glint within its shadowy mass, then it stepped forward; revealing itself as a manical Sableye.

On instinct Bree tensed, ready for battle whereas Psycho unleashed a confusion on the ghostly pokemon. The Sableye seemed unaffected and shot a well aimed dark pulse at Psycho, who was flung against a stone wall with a dull thud.

"Bree, use bite!" Seth said, his mind snapping into battle mode as this tough foe grinned menacingly at him. Bree leant back, ready to leap forward when a rasping voice was heard,

"Don't be foolish boy!" it whispered harshly. The Umbreon froze, staring at the corner where a figure had emerged, cloaked in a dark robe from head to foot.

"Wh-Who are you?" Seth stammered, staring at the dark figure.

"Now's not the time. Come with me and I'll explain elsewhere," the voice echoed. Seth felt his mouth dry out, fear flooding him.

"But… Why?" he asked-the only words he could find."Don't be foolish! Just follow me,"

"Bree-" Seth started, but the Sableye slashed at the Umbreon so she wouldn't attack,

"Now Sadie, there was no need for that!" the figure scolded the Sableye.

"Who are you?" Seth repeated, but there was no conviction in his voice."Bree, Psycho. Come here," the figure ordered, leaving Seth utterly abashed. Even more astonishing was the fact that his pokemon, throwing meaningful looks at each other, walked forwards.

"See? Your pokemon trust me, why can't you?"

"I have no idea who you are!" Seth cried out, angry that this person had control over his pokemon. His hand flew to their poke balls and he returned them, feeling protective and annoyed.

"Seth, please," the stranger said almost pleadingly.

"No! Not before you tell me who you are!" Seth said indignantly.

"I am sorry it must come to this…" the voice rattled and a knife was withdrawn from the cloak, glinting dangerously as the figure moved closer to Seth.

"What? What are you doing?" fear was seeping through him again as the cold metal pressed against his throat, what chance did he have but to follow this stranger?


	44. Waiting is the Worst Part

Becoming The Best

Chapter 43

"You can't stop me from getting my pokemon!" Sarah flared up in defiance, staring into the eyes of the woman-they certainly seemed vaguely familiar, but she couldn't quite tell why.

"We are wasting time," the woman sneered,

"Well sor-ry, but my Growlithe is out there, you almost killed me, are now threating me with a Hitmonlee and you haven't even had the courtesy to _tell me your name!" _Sarah snarled fiercly,

"You want my name?" the woman raised an eyebrow and Sarah exploded,

"NO I DON'T WANT YOUR FREAKIN' NAME! I WANT YOU TO LET ME GET MY POKEMON, YOU OLD _HAG_!" she roared and before she knew it, she had lunged for the woman, instinctively pulling her fist back to punch; but much to her horror, Seth stepped in the way and her fist connected sqaurely with the side of his head,

"Oh my god, I'm so-" Sarah was cut off from her apology by a solid blow to her ribcage that knocked her to the floor, courtesy of the angry Hitmonlee. Sarah pulled herself up into a sitting position whilst clutching her ribs-she was sure she had heard a crack; then turned to glare at the woman, hatred burning in her eyes.

"Talia, my the way," the woman sneered,

"What?" Sarah muttered darkly, narrowing her eyes,

"My name-it's Talia," the scarred woman smiled maliciously. Anger reared up in Sarah again, and irrational, uncontrollable hatred. Seth saw Sarah open her mouth to retort and quickly stepped in between them to try and diffuse the situation,

"Guys, just stop," he said with a shakey voice. Sarah scowled and her body shook as she tried to control herself.

"I. Want. My. _Pokemon_," she growled through gritted teeth, staring now at Seth instead of Talia. Seth sighed and turned slowly, as if it were a chore, and faced Talia.

"Why are you making her stay?" he asked,

"I don't want her running off and telling people I'm here. I don't want to people to know of my presence," Talia answered,

"Yeah, I mean there's nothing very strange about seeing someone who's supposed to be _dead _wandering around," Seth spat bitterly. The grin on Talia's face was wiped off and she glowered,

"Look, are we moving on or not? I want privacy," she spoke harshly, her voice still rasping. Seth glanced quickly at Sarah then replied,

"Not without Arcane,"

"Thank you," breathed Sarah. A smile broke out onto her face and she stood up, a pain shooting through her rib, causing her to flinch,

"Are you okay?" Seth asked, sounding concerned,

"Yeah, yeah, no worries," she smiled, then yelled, "ARCANE!"

Minutes passed in silence, Sarah rocked back and forth on her heels impatiently, wondering if Arcane was okay.

"The mutt isn't coming, let's just go," Talia hissed, turning to walk off. Folding her arms, Sarah remained rooted to the spot-she wasn't going to leave without Arcane, not now. As Talia walked away, Seth stood, torn between the two,  
"Sarah, we can find Arcane later, I promise," he said, putting his hand on her shoulder,

"You also promised that _she _wouldn't hurt me again, remember?" she hissed and shrugged his hand away, still staring down the street, waiting for that familiar orange blur to come hurtling around the corner. She knew he would. He had too.

"I'm sorry Sarah, I really am, but I have to do this," he said almost pleadingly,

"Okay, so answer this. What were you going to do?" she asked angrily, turning to face him,

"Huh?" he asked, confused,

"What were you going to do if I hadn't turned up eh?"

Seth remained silent.

"Were you just going to go wandering off and not tell any of us? Were you just going to let us wake up with no idea where you had gone?" she ranted. Seth looked taken aback,

"I have no idea what would have happened Sarah, but this is important!" he said, a frown appearing on his face,

"SO IS ARCANE!" Sarah yelled,

"Look, Arcane's a smart pokemon Sarah, he'll find you. He always does,"

"EXACTLY SETH! He _always _finds me, so _why isn't he here?" _Sarah snarled.

"Hurry up!" Talia called. Sarah could feel her eyes burning with frustration, but she didn't want to cry, she didn't want to give Talia the satisfaction, and she felt too angry with Seth to let him see her, so she narrowed her eyes in the hope that it would help. Seth looked at her, then at Talia and then back at Sarah,

"Sarah c'mon. He'll probably be curled up asleep in the pokecentre. Please just come on," Seth practically begged, tugging on her arm,

"But what if something's happened to him?" said Sarah in a small voice. He had to be okay, he just had to.

"Look, I promise we'll find him, but first we need to listend to what... Talia, has to say," Seth replied,

"Don't make promises you can't keep," Sarah said coldly. Seth took a step back, evidently hurt, however Sarah couldn't have cared less, she just wanted to see her Growlithe again,  
"Seriously Sarah, this isn't a joke. I need to... Figure some stuff out," he trailed off, sounding desperate but distant at the same time. Then a thought hit her, did this Talia person have anything to do with what she heard him talking about? Was she the person he had been looking for?

"Seth. Is she the one you've been looking for?" she asked, half scared of what he might say. She had never let Seth know that she had ever overheard him at all-he had no idea that she knew anything about him.

He didn't answer her, just stared with an expression of mixed horror and shock. For a few tense moments, neither of them spoke, but it was broken by the sound of claws clattering across the rock and as Sarah spun around, she saw a mass of orange fur rocketing towards her. Her face lit up in delight as Arcane knocked her over and for the umpteenth time that night, she hit the floor painfully; but at that moment she couldn't care less, her head was pounding, her rib was aching, but Sarah hardly noticed as she laughed, with her trusty Growlithe grinning over her. She didn't even notice Seth staring at her, horror stricken as she lay on the floor, his face full of horror and fear.


	45. Son of a!

Becoming The Best

Chapter 45

Sarah found herself trailing along behind, Seth was stalking moodily ahead, following the strange woman she had come to know as Talia. Her head was swarming with questions, wondering who the heck she was and why she seemed so important to Seth. Despite her worries, she couldn't keep the smile from lighting up her face, Arcane was back at her side, where he belonged. She was lost in thought and didn't realise they had stopped walking until she walked straight into the back of Seth who, regardless of his mood, stifled a laugh. Talia turned around sharply and glared at them,

"Okay. We are here," she said. Sarah looked around, they were in a large cave, but there didn't seem to be any significant feature about this than any other place she had found herself.

"What's so special about this place?" she asked cynically,

"We won't be over heard, and if I decide to dispose of you, your body will have long since rotted before anyone finds it," she snarled bitterly.

"That was uncalled for," Sarah scowled.

"How much do you know?" Talia advanced forward, she was taller than Sarah and had an intimidating air about her,

"What do you mean?" Sarah asked nervously,

"How much do you know about Seth?" she asked threateningly. Not knowing what to do, Sarah looked back and forth between the malicious glare of Talia and the startled look of Seth. Should she tell her that she knew he had lost his family, that he was looking for someone? Or would that information prompt another vicious attack, that may actually end up with her own death? She looked back at Seth and wondered what exactly she had gotten herself into when she left the island with him. Then it hit her. Her head shot back to stare at Talia, her brown eyes were flecked with specks of dark green, glaring impatiently down at her. Looking back at Seth, she saw it. His eyes were different, sky blue, but had unmistakeable specks of dark green.

A look of utter bewilderment crossed her face as she realised what that must mean, and Talia saw it. She grabbed Sarah's shoulders and pushed her back against the wall,  
"_What do you know?" _she hissed. Arcane growled a warning, but he was ignored. Helplessness flooded over Sarah, she didn't want to tell this menacing woman anything, she didn't want to be in this cold, dark cave. For the first time since she left, she wished she was back in the safety of her hometown, where she could smell the sweet aroma of the trees, where the sun shone overhead, the grass was springy and she had the comfort of a loving family and a warm bed to go home to. But that was a distand dream; she was miles away in a dusty old city, at the mercy of a woman that had a savage gleam in her eye.

"She doesn't know anything," Seth said, sounding scared at what might happen. Talia narrowed her eyes for a minute then let Sarah go. She steped back but didn't drop her gaze.

"Are you quite sure?" she said, in that rasping drawl.

"Yeah," he answered, shooting a look at Sarah.

"Very well," Talia turned her back on Sarah and went on, as if she weren't there.

"Seth, I owe you some answers," her voice was suprisingly soft.

"Yeah, you kinda do," he sighed.

"Seth, me and you were the only ones that survived, I was trapped by a fallen beam, but I could hear you crying. By the time I got free, she had taken you," Talia said. She seemed to be witholding the full story, not wanting Sarah to know too much.

"Who took me?" Seth asked, his eyes wide. Talia glanced quickly at Sarah before she spoke.

"You know exactly who Seth. But she didn't tell you did she? Of course she wouldn't. Why would she?"

"What are you talking about?" Seth sounded as confused as Sarah was at that point. Talia looked sharply at him, as if suprised he hadn't figured it out by now.

"Let me see your team," she ordered.

"What?"

"Your pokemon. Show them to me,"

Hesitantly, Seth withdrew his three pokeballs and let out his companions. Bree and Psycho looked around cautiously, then they bounded forward and jumped up at Talia, their tails wagging happily. A look of understanding passed over Seth's face, he knew why his pokemon recognised her now. Blair stayed close by Seth, the scars on Talia's face scared her, they were unfamiliar and she had never seen anything like it; she knew it was night but couldn't understand why they were standing in a cave; and could sense some kind of tension in the air. The absence of her best friend Air also unsettled her, she could see Sarah but didn't understand why the trainer was standing against the wall with such a shocked look on her face while Air was tucked away in her pokeball.

"They are too weak. You need to train them up," Talia said patiently.

"You said you owe me answers, all you've done is give me more questions!" Seth snapped angrily.

"And I'm sorry. But if I tell you, you might do something rash. Your pokemon need to be stronger first. Then I'll tell you," she said. Sarah, who up until then had been to scared to speak, let out a harsh laugh. Her fear seemed to have dissolved, replaced by anger,

"What?" Talia spat,  
"I'm sorry, but you are _not _travelling with us," she stated, her hand moving to her hip as she said it, staring indignantly at her.

"_Excuse _me, but who said I would be travelling with you?" Talia retorted,

"How else would you know his pokemon are stronger?" Sarah shot back, raising her eyebrows.

"I have my ways," she snarled, then turned on her heel and left, lesaving the two teenagers staring after her.

* * *

"Well that was rude," Sarah said a while after Talia had left.

"So? You heard what she said. I have to get stronger," Seth said abrubtly. Sarah turned to glare at him, the anger that had been bubbling up in her spilled over the edge when she looked into his eyes.

"I can't _believe _you! She's your _mother? _Why the heck didn't you tell me?" she raged, while Seth looked taken aback.

"How did you know?" he asked,

"WHO CARES HOW I KNOW? The point is, she's a mad lunatic who tried to kill me! And _you knew! _I bet you knew as soon as I said a mad woman attacked me in the woods!" she yelled,

"That's a lie! You didn't know she was a woman then, you thought it was a man!" he argued,

"I really don't care Seth. the point is, you left that island with a secret and you _knew _something was going on and you _didn't tell me_. Even though it was obvious from then on that I would somehow get caught up. You should have told me Seth, I mean look where it's landed me! I didn't sign up for this! I just wanted to escape! I wanted to defeat the gym leaders, the Elite Four, then the Champion and be done with it. Then I could go home and not be a stupid little sister anymore. I told you that. I told you everything," she seethed, staring right into his eyes.

Seth didn't talk, he just stared right back, his face void of emotion. Feeling sick, Sarah turned to walk away. She didn't want to be near him anymore, she just wanted to get away-far away. She got to the exit to the cave and turned around, she couldn't eave without saying one last thing.

"You know the worst thing Seth? I trusted you. I actually trusted you." she sighed, then walked away, Arcane flouncing his tail as they went.


	46. Story Time

_Yesss! Looks like I'll be updating more reguarly now. It feels so great to be able to start writing again :) :) Thanks for still reading, you guys are all great =D_

* * *

Becoming The Best

Chapter 46

As she stalked through the cavernous streets, Sarah ran through everything that had happened in her head; Talia, or Seth's mother as she now knew her, seemed a formidable woman and in Sarah's mind, it was only a matter of time before she ended up seriously hurting someone. Then there was the fact that she had told Seth to become stronger and a horrible thought entered Sarah's mind: What if she was going to use Seth to hurt someone? That would explain the need for them to meet in private, for not telling Sarah the whole story, and for telling Seth he needed to become more powerful. But if that _was _the case, then what could she do about it? What was the best option? Should she continue to travel with Seth, hoping to change his mind and hopefully divert him away from whatever twisted ideas Talia had for him? Or should she take the opposite route? Turn a blind eye, run away from it all and act like she didn't know anything? She had to admit, the latter had more appeal to her.

Coming to a halt outside the pokecentre, she had to ask herself if she really wanted to go inside. After all, it would be far easier to just leave now, no questions would have to be answered, no one would have to be any the wiser. She could continue on her journey alone. Then she thought of Kaleb. Of how worried he would be if she just disappeared. With a big sigh, Sarah decided it would be best to sleep on it and decide her fate in the morning.

"Wake _up _Sarah!" a voice called her. She was being shaken awake by someone. Opening her eyes, she saw Hayley standing over her.

"Eventually! Sarah, it's almost eleven! We have to get a move on if we want to get anywhere today," she said. After Sarah pulled herself to her feet, Hayley blustered around the room making the bed.

"I guess I had a rough night," Sarah laughed at the understatement she had just made, but didn't let tell Hayley anything-she knew that keeping quiet about the whole ordeal would be the best thing to do. For now.

"I hope you're not delerious," Hayley said concernedly after Sarah's laughing fit. Sarah looked to the door and saw it standing open, with Kaleb standing there with his eyebrows raised and Seth behind him, an unreadable look on his face.  
"Nothing a little... _Motherly love _can't fix," she sniggered, looking meaningfully at Seth before bursting into laughter again. She didn't know what was wrong with herself, she knew that it was a serious situation, but she found herself laughing about it as though it were nothing. Seth seemed to be having the same thoughts as he let out a nervous laugh. Kaleb and Hayley looked between the two of them, utterly confused.

"I um.. I'm sorry," Sarah smiled, looking at them, "I guess you could say I had a sudden realisation last night," the smile faded from her face as the events of the night ran through her mind. She couldn't trust Seth now, but she didn't know what to do.

"I think it's time for breakfast," Hayley said hesitantly

"Yeah, that sounds good," Sarah smiled, and led the way downstairs.

* * *

"Okay, so what's the plan of action?" Sarah said, wanting to feel at least a little in control.

"Well, we missed out a gym in Amaranthine-maybe we could go back there?" Kaleb suggested.

"Amaranthine? But that's _ages _away! Wouldn't it be best to keep goin forward instead of back? Then after the 7th badge you can go back and get that one," Hayley put forward,

"Well how many badges are left?" Sarah sighed,

"Okay, we've beaten the flying person, the rock person, the electric person," Kaleb counted,

"Is that all? Feels like we've been travelling for longer than that," Seth put in suddenly. Sarah glared at him, her sense of humour about the whole situation that she had that morning had washed away and she remembered how truly terrified she had actually been,

"Yeah well, if you hadn't insisted on tagging along with me, I might have more," she said coldly. Kaleb narrowed his eyes, sensing something had happened between the two.

"I _thought _I could sense some tension," Hayley chirped, smiling at the fact she had guessed rightly.

"Yeah, 'coz everything is obviously my fault isn't it?" Seth shot back sarcastically,  
"Well yeah, it kinda is!" Sarah retorted, standing up to glare at him,

"Okay okay, _what _happened?" Kaleb interrupted,

"I decided you were right Kaleb," Sarah said, not taking her eyes off Seth,

"Wait, what?" Kaleb gasped, confused,

"We don't need Seth," she growled.

"Hey, no fair!" Seth protested, taking a step back and looking helpless.

"Yes. It is fair. I don't trust you. I never should have,"

"Do you trust me?" Hayley asked innocently, not aware of the heated argument she was interrupting. Sarah ignored the comment and continued to glare at Seth.

"Sarah, what happened?" Kaleb stood up, standing right in front of her and grabbing her shoulders, sounding worried. When he didn't get an answer, he repeated himself.

"_He's _what happened!" Sarah cried out, pointing at Seth, who took another step back under her accusatory glare.

"Sarah, none of this is my fault!" he argued,

"Well I wouldn't know would I? Because you haven't actually told me _anything! _Even after what happened!"

"_What happened?" _Kaleb said despearately, wanting to know what had gone on,

"For goodness sake Kaleb, it doesn't matter! It doesn't concern you!" Sarah snapped, shoving him out the way,

"You want me to tell you?" Seth said in defeat,  
"Yes," Sarah replied through gritted teeth.

"Fine. But those two don't need to know,"

"Oh great, more secrets," Sarah rolled her eyes,

"THIS ISN'T SOME KIDS GAME SARAH!" Seth shouted angrily,

"Well then what is it?"

"I don't care what you say, I'm not telling you with those two around," he said defiantly,

"FINE!" Sarah screamed, turning around to push the other two out of the pokecentre lobby they were in,

"You two go level up your pokemon or something," she said irately. Hayley turned and walked of, but Kaleb remained.

"You used to tell me everything," he said. Sarah softened. He was right-they were best friends.

"I know Kale, I know," she said, using the nickname she used to call him by all the time.

"I regret what I said that day in Glistenport. I should have let you on the ferry,"

"You can't change that now,"

"I know. But I still mean what I said," he looked at her, his eyes full of concern,  
"Which bit? I mean, I'm not dead," she smiled,

"I don't want to see you hurt," he said. Sarah knew he was telling the truth.

"You're just gonna have to trust me again Kale," she smiled weakly.

"Okay," he said, and pulled her into a hug.

Wiping sentimental tears from her eyes, Sarah turned and walked back into the lobby and sat down at the table, opposite Seth.

"Where do I start?" Seth said.  
"At the beginning,"


	47. Seth's Story

Becoming The Best

Chapter 47

"You do realise I can't give you the full story? Even I don't know it all," Seth muttered, glancing up at Sarah anxiously.  
"Then tell me what you know," she replied. With a big sigh, Seth adjusted himself in his seat and started fiddling with a tea cup in front of him.

"Well I guess it started when I was about 2. I don't really remember it well, but I know exactly what happened. There was a big pokemon-don't ask me I can't remember what kind," he snapped, seeing that Sarah was about to interrupt, "Anyway. It.. It killed my grandma and her Spoink,"

Sarah gasped, and all of a sudden guilt started to roll over her, why was she making him relive this? It was obviously hurting him.

"Seth I'm sor-"  
"Then about a year later," he started, going on as if he hadn't heard her, "it came back. But it had an owner. It was someone my mother knew so she flew into a rage. She said it was a betrayal of trust and that she couldn't believe that her friend would capture such a brutal pokemon. That's when it happened. My mam made her pokemon attack. I heard that the woman's oldest pokemon got killed, her best friend. And that set her off. She unleashed the power of that huge pokemon, but it got out of control. It went on a rampage. Next thing I remember, everything was on fire. Bree and Psycho were there, but they were still too young. Their mother died trying to protect them, so I remember grabbing hold of them and not letting go. It was horrible," he finished. His eyes were distant and Sarah could tell that he was back at his home, watching the carnage but not being able to do anything to stop it.

"Seth..." Sarah trailed off, she had no idea what to say. What could she say?

"So apparently someone took me," he mumbled.

"Well can you not remember what happened after that?" Sarah asked gently, hoping to prompt some important information out of him,  
"I woke up in a hospital. Nurse Joy said someone had taken me in during the night then took off. I only had Bree and Psycho with me," he smiled a sad smile and stroked the heads of his faithful pokemon who were sitting solemnly at his side.

"But then... How did you end up at that island?" Sarah asked. She was thirsty for more information, but at the same time felt guilty for probing further into what must be painful for him.

"The old lady came into the hospital. She had heard about what happened on the news and said that she could offer me a home. I was an orphan by then you see. Well.. So I thought. Anyway, she said it would be better for me to get away from it all, apparently it was a traumatic event for me and being near where it happened could be bad for my sould. Or some kind of crap like that. So they let her take me to the island. And I led a perfectly boring life-never getting any more information about what happened. Until now,"

Silence followed his speech. Sarah had never even dreamed that anything as bad as that could happen to anyone-let alone the happy go lucky guy that was sitting in front of her.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. There was nothing else to say. She wasn't good with things like that. After all, what could she possibly say that would ever make him feel any better?

"So I've got to do this. I've got to know the truth," he finished, looking her straight in the eye. A tiny nugget of doubt seemed to be gnawing away at Sarah's inside, there was something in that story, a link somewhere-she knew it. But she couldn't piece anything together. Then there was the fact that Seth's mother seemed so vengeful. It seemed to Sarah that when she told Seth who had started the carnage that night, she would be relying on him to go and destroy them. But he wouldn't do that. Would he?

"Seth. You know when you find out who started it? Will you.. I mean to say... I mean. What are you going to do when you find out?" she stammered. Seth frowned at the question,

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I really hope you don't go on some hell bent vendetta and try and kill anybody," she said seriously. A grin broke out onto Seth's face and he started to laugh, but he realised she wasn't joking, he sast up straighter and leaned forward,

"You don't have to worry about that Sarah, okay? I won't strike up a murderous vendetta. I promise," he said.

_Don't make promises you can't keep._

The words echoed in Sarah's head. Was this just another empty promise?

"What? Don't you trust me?" Seth asked with a smile after seeing the look on Sarah's face.

She didn't smile back.

* * *

"I can't wait to see what this next town's like. What's it called? Oh yeah, Waneral! I heard there's a HUGE river running through it!" Hayley enthused, pouring over a map of Sentas as they walked across the land. They were on a steady decline, at the bottom of which bright green grass stretched out beyond. It brought back visions of the bouncy grass of Woodham to Sarah and she felt another pang of longing for her home.

"Kaleb, do you ever miss Woodham?" she asked him quietly, so the others wouldn't hear.

"Sometimes,"  
"I wonder how long this will take," Sarah wondered aloud,

"I never thought this day would come," Kaleb laughed,

"What are you on about?"

"You actually miss your mam and dad don't you? You're full of suprises," he grinned. With a laugh Sarah shoved him so he shoved her back harder, because of her clumsy footing though, she went tumbling down the hill. With a playful barck, Arcane went gambolling after her. Kaleb Seth and Hayley stood staring at her in shock, but she stood up at the bottom of the hill with a huge grin on her face,

"THAT WAS SO COOL!" she screamed excitedly.  
"I wanna go!" Hayley said, and she lay on the floor to roll down the hill. Churro and Pretzel were out of their pokeballs, and with a screech of joy, Pretzel rolled into a ball and followed. Churro merely slung his bone over his shoulder like a gun and sauntered down the hill.

"Hey, I bet Ellie and Polo would like that," Kaleb said to himself. Hotch cackled by his side and the Haunter disappeared, reappearing next to Hayley at the bottom, making her shriek in fright. After releasing Ellie, she took a look at the rolling Sandshrew and copied off her. Polo took a different route and decided to cartwheel down.

"If that's the case," Sarah took out all of her pokeballs and released her pokemon. Blue took one look at the pokemon rolling down the hill and charged up it, wanting to roll down. Unfortunately, he ran straight into Churro, knocking the Marowak sprawling down the hill. The ground pokemon picked himself up and raised his bone to throw it at the Wartortle who was still carreering up the hill.

"Churro. What did I tell you? You are not to be nasty anymore, that was an accident. If you throw that bone at him, then I will confiscate it," Hayley said firmly. Churro sighed huffily, looking oddly like a teenager getting told off and stomped over to stand next to Hayley with his arms firmly crossed.

"Well. I may aswell let Blair out too," Seth sighed, and with a flash of red light, Blair was jumping up and down, having spotted Air flying around. All of the pokemon started running around and having fun, except Mars (and Churro, but he was just being unsociable). She was overwhelmed by the way all of the pokemon seemed to know eachother and stuck close to Sarah.

"What's wrong Mars?" Sarah asked, bending down to pat her head. Zen noticed the Diglett and walked over. Sarah turned to start talking to Hayley, and pretty soon Zen and Mars were playing together-they were playing some game that reminded Sarah of whack-a-mole. Sarah sat back on the grass and smiled-it had been (or at least felt) like a long time since they had all just hung out like that, enjoying just mesing around and having fun. It was nice to relax, but it seemed different now. After everything that had happened between her, Seth and Talia, something in her seemed to have changed.

The bottom line was, she just couldn't trust him anymore.


	48. Tag Team Trouble

_Woah, I can't remember writing a chapter this long in a while, but it's the first time I've written a decent battle in ages, so I just sort of got carried away. And I didn't really want to put this battle into two halves, seeing as I haven't written one in a while. Oh well.  
Hope you like it :)_

* * *

Chapter 48

The group arrived at Waneral the next morning (after camping under the cover of some trees) and their first stop was of course, the Pokecentre.

"But I want to go see the river! I mean it's going to be all watery and blue and I mean look at the weather, it's really hot so we could just like, jump in the pool!" Hayley whined as they trudged through the town to the centre.

"Hayley, I am so close to tying rocks to your feet and _throwing _you into the river," Kaleb said wearily. She hadn't shut up about the large river all day, and the group was growing tired of hearing about it,

"Why are you so interested in the river anyway?" Sarah asked. She would have thought the City of Dust would have intrigued her more, what with it being so steeped in history and her love of ground pokemon.

"Why am I..? Do you guys know anything? This, my friends, is the very first river that Kyogre ever swam in!" she gasped, her eyes wide with astonishment. The others laughed at her ludicrous idea.

"You just made that up didn't you?" Seth laughed,

"No, no I didn't, my little brother told me," she insisted,  
"And how old is your brother?" Sarah asked,

"Well, he was four at the time," she said, counting on her fingers.

"And you believed him?"

"Of course I did, he's full of great stuff like that! For example, did you know that that little island called Greensand _actually _has green sand! I'm going to have to visit there one day!" Hayley beamed. Kaleb and Sarah laughed even harder,  
"Hayley, we grew _up _on Greensand! It has _not _got green sand! That's like saying they call my village Woodham because the trees are made out of ham!" Sarah told her, astounded at how gullible Hayley was.

"Really? Oh, that must be why he laughs whenever I mention anything he's told me," Hayley looked crestfallen, but quickly perked up and said,

"But it's okay, I still want to see the river," she smiled. Sarah shot a glance at Kaleb and they both started sniggering again as they entered the pokecentre.

* * *

"While you're at the river, I'm going to the gym," Sarah said, as the other three made their way towards the riverbank.

"Now?" Seth asked, looking up,

"Nah, I just said that so I could run away," Sarah shot back sarcastically. She still didn't know whether she liked Seth or not, and the frustration it gave her meant she kept snapping at him whenever he spoke to her.

"Woah, sorry. I was just gonna say I'll join you but it doesn't matter if you're being like that," he scowled at her. He couldn't believe she was being so cold towards him, not after he'd opened up to her, told her what she wanted to know. It was more than he'd told anyone, but she didn't seem to appreciate that.

"I'll go," Kaleb smirked. He was the only one who was outwardly happy with the whole situation (apart from Hayley, but more often than not, she was off in her own little world). The fact that Sarah didn't seem happy with Seth only seemed to fortify his dislike with him, and he was pleased that Seth was not trusted at all anymore. There was just something about him that seemed off.

Sarah didn't fall for it though, as much as she liked Kaleb, she hated the fact he was taking advantage of her frustration with Seth.

"No. I don't need any of you there," Sarah said shortly then walked off, leaving them both there, staring after her.

As she walked through the doors to the gym, the first thing she noticed was the light dancing on the ceiling, reflected from the large body of water that was running through the middle of the room. After looking around, Sarah realised that the gym was actually built over the river, with the waters raging through the room, with the river banks sprouting foliage. It was basically four walls and a ceiling placed over a section of land.

"Hey! Are you here to challenge us?" a woman in her early twenties shouted, jumping off a platform and running over. Her long brown hair swept out behind her and she had a warm smile.

"Um.. Yeah, but what do you mean by us?" Sarah asked, looking around for another person.

"Oh! Well, me and my fiance are a tag team," she beamed.

"A... A tag team?" Sarah asked. As the woman in front of her nodded, Sarah groaned; she should have let one of the others join her-if she had to have a partner then she may aswell leave now. As she turned to go, the leader pulled her back.

"Hey, where are you going?" the lady asked,

"I don't have anyone to battle with,"

The woman let out a tinkling laugh,

"You don't need a partner, you just send out two pokemon at a time,"

"Ohhh, that's okay then," Sarah smiled.

"Right. Um... So are you ready?"

Sarah nodded,

"Okay, one minute. WILL, GET YOUR BUTT OUT OF THE WATER, WE HAVE A CHALLENGER!" she bellowed behind her, making Sarah jump. The surface of the water broke and a man, about the same age as the woman, swam to the bank and pulled himself up.

"Great, my pokemon haven't had a good excersise today," he smiled.

"Right, just stand over on the other side of the river-you can use that bridge if you like," the woman said. When she got to where she was supposed to stand, Sarah looked over at the pair of gym leaders, standing at the other side of the water.

"Okay. Introductions, introductions..." the man mumbled, scratching his head as if trying to remember something. The woman hit him playfully,  
"Stop acting stupid! Anyway," she turned to Sarah, "I am Courtney, lover of all water types-and this is Will. He likes swimming," Courtney smiled. Sarah tried not to laugh, out of all the gym leaders-these two seemed like the funniest.

"And you are?" Will asked,

"Sarah,"

"Ready? Okay, let's BATTLE!"

With a flash of red light, a Floatzel and a Kingler appeared , standing on the bank. Sarah thought for a moment-the obvious choice was of course Zen, but who else?

"Okay Air, Zen, let's do this!" Sarah smiled, letting loose her Pidgeotto and Jolteon.

"Blitz, use ice fang!" Courtney yelled, and the Floatzel leapt into action. In one fluid movement, it jumped over the river and sunk its teeth into Air, who had been caught off guard.

"Zen, thundershock!" Sarah ordered. The Jolteon aimed a jolt of energy at the weasel pokemon, but it twisted out of the way, throwing Air into the oncoming bolt of energy and with a cry of pain, she hit the floor. After two super effective attacks, she was feeling pretty beat up, when a scuttling noise caught Sarah's attention; the Kingler was scuttling over to the bank and scraping up some mud to fling at Zen,

"Zen watch out!" Sarah cried. Just in time, Zen slipped out of the way, running upstream out of the way.

"Use thundershock on that Kingler, Air return!" Sarah said. She wasn't going to let her get any worse. The only choice that left her with was Blue-Mars and Arcane wouldn't stand a chance. An indignant bark made her look down, her Growlithe was wanting to join the fight,

"Arcane no, they are water pokemon. I'm going to send out Blue," Sarah spoke as if she was talking to a small child. She threw Blue's pokeball and her Wartortle appeared, chuckling for some reason.

"Blue, take out that Kingler, Zen you focus on the Floatzel," Sarah ordered, eyeing up the opponents uneasily. They seemed pretty tough. Blue looked at the Kingler that was advancing on him and immediately stopped laughing. It looked scary.

"Blue, use bite," he heard his trainer say. Grinning to bear his pointy little teeth, he leapt at the pokemon and bit down onto its pincer. In return, he felt a stinging pressure cracking down onto his shell. With a yelp, he withdrew into his shell and used rapid spin in an attempt to escape. The Kingler dropped the spinning Wartortle in shock and Blue landed in the river.

Zen was staring down the Floatzel, it's fangs were bared in an evil grin.

"Blitz, use crunch!" Courtney shouted, and once again, the Floatzel all but flew over the grass and came down upon Zen, but the Jolteon was wise to it's tricks and sent a thundershock straight down it's throat. It jumped back, glaring at the Jolteon.

"Blitz, physical attacks are out of the question-use sonic boom," Courtney advised her pokemon. Blitz nodded and sent a destructive shock wave at the Jolteon, making her wince with the pain.

"Use swift, it's stronger," Will interruped,

"Right. Blitz use swift!" Courtney smiled, there was no possible way to escape that move.

Blue was struggling with his fight, the Kingler had him in a vice grip, slowly crushing him-he could feel his shell about to crack at any minute and his water attacks were proving futile to stop it. Suddenly, a new pain cut into him, as hundreds of razor sharp stars tore into him and the Kingler holding him. The crab pokemon dropped Blue as the stars ravaged his shell and Blue quickly swam over to the bank, pulling himself up to get next to Zen. Together they stood, staring at their opponents, eyes wide with anticipation, waiting to see what happened next.

Will and Courtney did the same, conversing as to what their next move would be. Sarah stood nervously, unsure of to attack or wait it out. Suddenly, the two gym leaders shouted out their commands and both of the pokemon charged at Blue, who shrieked and withdrew into his shell just as the jaws of the Floatzel and the Kinglers pincers closed around it. Zen let out a furious growl and flew at the nearest foe, but with a swift tail flick from Blitz, she was flung into the river. By the time she dragged herself to land, Blue had fainted. The two pokemon turned their attention to the startled Jolteon. Just as they were about to attack, an angry growl from behind made them turn. Arcane stood there, head down and hackles raised, ready for the fight. Blitz smirked and ran swiftly towards the Growlithe, water jets at the ready, but Arcane was prepared; jumping up he swivelled in mid air and chomped down on the Floatzel's whirring tail. The weasel pokemon let out a scream of pain and shot a jet of water at Arcane, blasting him backwards. He let out a ferocious roar and charged recklessly at Blitz, flinging himself off the ground and slamming into the Floatzel with as much power as he could muster. Blitz was thrown backwards by the force and Arcane thudded painfully to the ground.  
"Arcane did you just use... You just learned take down," Sarah smiled at her furry friend and he grinned back before quickly turning to the battle once again.

Zen was getting angry. She hated the way those two pokemon had teamed up on Blue to take him down so cruelly. The poor guy didn't stand a chance. She narrowed her almond eyes at the approaching Kingler; he was going to pay for what he did. She walked calmly towards it, daring it to attack. The Kingler was put off by this, it wasn't used to pokemon waiting for an attack. Will didn't seem to have a problem though, he hadn't learned the lesson Courtney had and ordered the Kingler to use vicegrip. As soon as the pincers made contact, she let loose her fury in the form of a terrifyingly powerful electric shock, knocking it out cold. She let out a huge sigh of relief and started to relax again, when a flash of red light revealed a new foe for her to fight.

Arcane ran to bite at the Floatzel, revelling in the fact he was getting one over on a water pokemon, when a sudden blast of water from it sent him reeling. The Floatzel then bounced up and used his tail to bat Arcane into the river. Not wanting to give up, he sunk his teeth into the Floatzel's floatation sack and brought it down into the water, shaking his head violently to try and do as much damage as he could. After a few minutes, neither pokemon emerged and Will had to pause the match, dive in and retrieve the pokemon, both fainted. Sarah took a deep breath. It was Mars' turn. Her first big battle. And she was still much weaker than the rest of the team. And it was against a pair of water specialists. Great.

Zen looked up at the Cloyster in front of her, then saw a flash of red light. Turning slightly, she saw Mars on the battefield and felt her stomach drop. She couldn't let her get hurt. Another flash of red light caught her eye and she saw the woman let out her other pokemon, a Gorebyss which landed gracefully in the water. She glanced back and forth between all of the pokemon. She knew for a fact that Mars wouldn't stand a chance, she also knew that it would be tough for her to defeat them both while trying to keep the Diglett safe. With a glance at the river, she realised what she must do.

Her paws padded silently on the grass as she took a few steps backwards then, with all of her speed she ran at the the Cloyster, the momentum sending them both barrelling into the water. When she was in the water, along with the two other pokemon, she let loose another powerful shock, the water amplifying it ten fold with crackling intensity. Zen then pulled herself ashore, panting heavily and standing protectively over Mars, ready for any attack that may come. After a few moments without any sign of life, Zen closed her eyes in relief, then turned to walk back to Sarah. As she did so however, the huge Cloyster rose from the water and shot an aurora beam straight at the Jolteon, knocking her to the ground, struggling to get back up. Mars instantly went into attack mode, outraged with the Cloyster, it summoned it's earth power, making the ground underneath the oversized clam erupt with power. It was sent rocketing to the other side of the river where it lay at Will's feet out cold. A sudden light filled the room, blinding everyone. Then it faded, revealing a Dugtrio, a look of victory plastered over her three faces.

Will and Courtney returned their fainted pokemon while Sarah ran to Zen and Mars, pulling them into hugs and praising them over and over again.

"I love you guys so much," she whispered.

When she got up, it was to see the two gym leaders standing over her, beaming.

"You sure earned this one kiddo," Will said,

"Yep. You're a great trainer," Courtney smiled.

Sarah looked down at her pokemon.

"No, I've just got great pokemon," she grinned.

* * *

Becoming The Best


	49. Dragon Attack

Becoming The Best

Chapter 49

Sarah was sitting by the bank of the river, further upstream than any of the others, with all of her team out. She was insanely proud of the fight they had just had with the gym leaders, but she needed some time to think. Once again, she tried to sort out her thoughts on everything that had happened and-more importantly-what was _going _to happen. She couldn't fool herself, she knew something was going to happen and she didn't want to be part of it. She still yearned to become the best, but with everything that had happened, she hadn't trained or even battled much in a while. Her pokemon were getting restless; especially Arcane. It had been at least a week since she had battled the tag team leaders, but the other's hadn't wanted to move on-there was a festival in town later in the month and they all wanted to stay around to watch it. Sarah on the other hand was getting impatient. She was also getting angry with Seth and Kaleb-they were trainers too, and they were now _both _travelling for the sole purpose of getting stronger, so why did they want to stay in one place?

With a sigh, she pulled herself up and stared into the distance, past the town. It was nestled at the bottom of a deep valley, a large hill rose in the direction of the next town. Wanting nothing more than to go and climb it, she made up her mind. She was going to the next town tomorrow, whether the others did or not.

* * *

"Aww, but this is going to be a super cool festival with lights and paper flags in the streets and everything! People are coming from everywhere to see it-there'll be loads of people to battle when it starts!" Hayley pleaded, her eyes wide as she tried to convince Sarah to stay.

"I know, but I need to train _now_," she insisted.

"Sarah c'mon, you don't have to. Take a break from training for a while," Kaleb suggested. Involuntary image of Talia's scary strong pokemon flahsed in her mind.

"No. I need to train. I need to get all the badges then defeat the Elite Four and the Champion," Sarah said, more to convince herself of what she still needed to do than anyone else.

"What the point of becoming a trainer if you don't relax and enjoy it once in a while?" Kaleb said.

"I think Sarah's right," Seth said shortly. Everyone turned to look at him.

"I need to train too," he said simply. Sarah felt herself drop a little, truth be told she was looking forward to travelling on her own for a bit. But now she couldn't.

* * *

The next day, Sarah and Seth were ready to leave. There was lots of hugging and Hayley even started crying at point,

"I have a fragile soul," she insisted, before pulling them into hugs again. Then they were off. It took a whole week of travelling before they got to the next town, during which Sarah put her pokemon through intensive training, so when they finally reached their next destination, they were in their mid-30 levels.

That's when it happened.

A shrieking sound could be heard up above, a shrill cry that pierced through them and seemed to reach to their very soul. Looking up, they saw an Aerodactyl circling above them, with none other than Hazel astride it. But she wasn't alone-in her hand she was clutching a writhing pokemon, who was obviously in pain.

"YOU STUPID, PATHETIC, WEAKLING!" she bellowed, throttling the pokemon as she yelled.

"STOP THAT!" Sarah screamed, horrified at the brutal treatment of the pokemon. Hazel looked down and saw them staring up.

"Eurgh, not you two again! Fine, have it. What would I want with a stupid thing like that anyway?" and with that, she flung the pokemon from the great height. Sarah screamed and ran to catch it, Arcane at her heels. She wasn't quick enough however and it hit the ground with a sickening thud. A strangled cry of rage and horror left Sarah as she took the pokemon in her arms. She couldn't believe it. A Dratini.

Without stopping to think, she started running to the pokemon centre, as outraged with Hazel as she was, her main concern was getting the poor thing healed. A huge shadow loomed over her and the next moment, the formiddable Aerodactyl landed in front of her-blocking her entrance to the town.

"If you're taking that pokemon then you're going to have to battle me for it," Hazel sneered, sliding down from her pokemon.

"I haven't got time for this!" Sarah snarled.  
"You're going to _make _time," Hazel sneered and sent out her Kabuto.

"You know what? FINE! Zen, you're up!" she struggled to throw the pokeball while keeping hold of the Dratini, but Zen emerged, looking calm and collected once again. She knew what she was doing.

"Pebble, use mud shot," Hazel sneered, sure that she would win,

"Zen, dodge it and use double kick," Sarah shot back. Zen obliged, rolling out of the way of the mud before dealing two super effective blows to the Kabuto, who whined in pain and shrunk away.

"And again," Sarah said.

"Stop being a wimp Pebble, use endure!" Hazel screamed. Pebble closed his eyes and strengthened his resolve, so when the two painful kicks came, he didn't get knocked out-but he was very very weak.

"Quick attack!" Sarah shouted, hoping to defeat it before any more ground moves could hurt Zen. The Kabuto was too slow and was knocked out by the move. A grin found it's way onto Sarah's face, despite her anger. The fact she was beating Hazel so easily was simply delightful.

"You won't beat my next pokemon so easily! Come on out Rocky!"

A huge, formidable form materialised on the battlefield, towering over Zen. The Bastiodon let out a ferocious bellow and charged at Zen, sending her flying. When she hit the floor, the Bastiodon let out another roar, and used ancient power, using all of it's power to knock Zen out.

"See, you'll never win," Hazel sneered.

"I wouldn't be too sure," Sarah said indignantly. Arcane barked at her side,  
"Arcane, you wouldn't stand a chance. Let Mars handle this one," she said, releasing the Dugtrio. A small noise that sounded like it would break her heart made Sarah look down. The Dratini was in really bad shape, she was beaten and looked wasted-she might only have minutes left. But an Aerodactyl was blocking her way, and she was pretty sure a potion wouldn't do any good-the pokemon was too injured. Her mind whirring, she looked down at her determined Dugtrio, when inspiration struck.

"Mars, use magnitude over there, near the Aerodactyl,"

The Dugtrio cast her a confused look, the other trainer was over there and she had never had to attack a trainer before. Did Sarah know this?

"Go on, it's fine. Trust me,"

Mars nodded and turned, using her power to cause the land to quake with an unseen force, more powerful than any other move she had ever used before; even the Bastiodon got hit, sending it sprawling to the floor, knocked out cold. The Aerodactyl took to the air with a screech, flying as high as it could away from the quaking ground, and Sarah saw her chance.

"Guys, some on!" she shouted, and sprinted past a bewildered looking Hazel and into the town, heading straight for the pokecentre.

* * *

"What did you do?" Nurse Joy gasped, taking the Dratini from Sarah,

"It wasn't me, it was this girl-she was strangling it so I told her to stop and then. then she threw it to the ground and it hit the floor. It was horrible! Please, please make it better!" Sarah begged, staring into the eyes of the injured Dratini. As Nurse Joy wheeled it away, it didn't break eye contact with Sarah, staring right back until she had gone through into another room. Shuddering with the shock of it all, Sarah turned around to look at Seth,  
"How could she do that? That was just cruel," she shuddered,

"I know. But you've done all you can. C'mon," he smiled sadly and placed his hand on her shoulder to steer her away, but she remained rooted to the spot.

"What do you mean 'c'mon'? You can't actually expect me to leave it here can you? I need to know if it's okay! I can't just leave. I don't know what happens to pokemon like that. It could get put in like a... A shelter or something. Or what if Hazel gets her hands on it again? She might kill it!" Sarah argued. She really couldn't just leave the poor Dratini alone, not after what she had just seen.  
"I think you're over reacting Sarah," Seth sighed,

"No. No I'm not," she replied. Seth didn't reply. Instead, they stood there, waiting until they heard news of the small dragon.

* * *

"Are you the two that came in with the Dratini?" a voice called to them. Sarah turned quickly, seeing a nurse hurrying towards them

"Yes, yes we are. Will it be okay?" Sarah asked,

"He's going to be fine. But there's a small matter we have to sort out. You said the pokemon isn't yours? That it belongs to a girl?" Joy asked. Sarah started shaking again, the sight of Hazel throwing the pokemon from the back of her monster was still fresh in her mind and she seemed unable to talk for a few minutes, so Seth explained to Nurse Joy what had happened.

"That is outrageous! She should be locked up!" Nurse Joy exclaimed. It took her a minute to calm down before continuing,

"Well. Seeing as you brought him in, it is up to you what should be done with him," she explained, looking gently at Sarah.

"Can I see him please?" Sarah asked,

"Of course you can," Nurse Joy smiled and led her into the room where the Dratini lay. When it caught sight of Sarah, it straightened up and moved over to see her, his eyes boring into hers, as if looking deep into her soul.

"Do you want to be my pokemon?" Sarah asked, the words out of her mouth before she had even thought about it. Something seemed to glitter in the dragons eyes and he rose up to snake around her neck, before resting his head on hers.

"I think that's a yes," Seth laughed from the doorway, "And please pick a good name this time," he added. Sarah laughed and stroked the smooth skin of the Dratini, while Arcane jumped up to lick him.

"Well. It seems fair to say that I have absolutely no idea what to name him. Something dragony. Dragon. Dragreen. Hmm. Dragooooon," she played with the word dragon over and over again, Seth standing with his arms folded, knowing for a fact that this was going to end with a really stupid name.

"I've got it!" she exclaimed suddenly, clicking her fingers in the air.

"Let's hear it then," Seth smiled.

"He's called Dragoon,"

* * *

_Yes, I know, I know-Sarah is terrible at naming pokemon. But look-a Dratini! That kinda makes up for the name don't you think?_


	50. Realisation

_Hey, sorry for the delay in updating, but I couldn't figure out what how to do this, I mean I thought if I went into detail with all of the gym battles and levelling up then the pace of the story would be interrupted. I hope this is okay and doesn't seem rushed, but I thought it would be best. Either way, hope you enjoy it and again, thanks for reading, it really means alot to me =D_

* * *

Becoming The Best

Chapter 50

"It has to be said, that is the worst name yet," Seth raised his eyebrows at the dragon wrapped around Sarah's neck.

"He's cute though. But he needs trained up. Looks like I'm going to be training alot more than usual,"

"I know right, pretty soon our pokemon are gonna be beasts," he laughed,

"You know, you should train Blair up more-you seem to be focusing all the training on Bree and Psycho," Sarah said, eyeing the Eeveelutions warily-they were getting alot tougher than any of her pokemon because Seth had focused the entire journey on levelling them up.

"I know, I know. Guess I'll train her while you train Dragoon," he sighed.

"Okay. Time to train," Sarah said firmly, and they went off to train.

* * *

The next few months passed by like a blur, constant training and battling meant that Sarah rarely had any time to relax, but she felt that thae growth of her team more than made up for it. As she stood outside of the 7th gym, holding a shiny new badge in her hand, she thought about it all. Her favourite moment by far had been when Blue had evolved. After defeating a particuarly tough Lumineon, a bright light enveloped him, until he emerged as a huge Blastoise with intimidating guns sticking out of his rock hard shell. Sarah stood, her head at his chin and looked up into his eyes. Blue looked around at the awestruck trainers and immediately stood up straight and saluted, his great big clawed hand held rigidly to his head.

"Is he... Is he saluting me?" Sarah asked Seth a bit nervously.

"It looks like he is," Seth muttered back, staring up at the Blastoise,

"But he's being all... Serious. Blue isn't normally serious," she whispered. Blue was still staring at her, his hand held in a salute.

"Sometimes evolution does that. I mean, who ever heard of a childish Blastoise?"

"But... Blue isn't serous. He's just... Blue," Sarah said. She couldn't imagine Blue not being silly and childish-that's all she'd ever known him to be like.

"He is still blue," Seth said, trying to make her laugh. She didn't.

"It looks like he wants you to salute him back," Seth nodded towards Blue, who was staring at Sarah expectantly.  
"Oh. Okay," she said and returned his salute half-heartedly. As soon as she did so however, a roaring sound erupted from Blue and he fell to the floor, his roaring laughter bellowing through the town. Arcane jumped back, astonished at Blue's behaviour. Seth took a few steps back, staring at Blue tentatively but Sarah ran forward and hugged the huge pokemon, delighted at the fact he hadn't changed one little bit.

"Aw, you're still my little Blue," she beamed.

"Except he's not so little anymore," Seth grinned. Blue stood up to glare at Seth before dowsing him with the guns protruding from his shell, then bursting into a fit of roaring laughter again.  
"Some things never change," Seth sighed.

* * *

"Hello?" Seth waved a hand infront of Sarah's face, bringing her back to the present. She looked down at her Growlithe-he was grinning up at her, his tongue lolling out and panting, but no worse for the wear after the gym fight. It had been a breeze, Sarah had overestimated the level the gym leader's pokemon and trained her pokemon so they positively wiped the floor with the gym leader. Even so, she made her way to the pokecentre to heal up her pokemon. Usually, she would check the map on the wall to see where the next gym was, but she didn't need to. She knew exactly where it was. It was on her home island, Greensand. Over the plains that seperated the weaker pokemon from the scary strong ones, the gym lay on top of a large hill, overlooking the island. She could visit her home while she was there, after she had defeated the leader she would stop by, show her parents how wrong they had been, how far she had come...

"Sarah. I'm not going to the last gym with you. I need to meet my mam and for some reason I'm thinking you won't want to come with me," Seth told her,

"Come again?" Sarah said, raising her eyebrows and staring at him, hand on her hip,

"I got a letter from her last night. I've got to go meet her at the City of Dust," he sighed.

"Fine. Bye," she said through gritted teeth, then walked off. He was right, she didn't want to go with him to see that horrible woman and she was angry and hurt that Seth would just abandon her to go and see her. Then she remembered that she was his mother, that she had practically come back from the dead. It was understandable that he would want to hear what she had to say. But so did Sarah. Curiosity burned inside of her, but she couldn't go and see what Talia was going to say to Seth. Then a thought hit her. There was someone else who _had _to know what had happened.

_I was sure I recognised it, but I'm not sure how-Bree went all crazy and nearly killed it._

_We don't watch much TV around here._

_She heard about what had happened on the news._

It all made sense, the links all fit in place. It was obvious-how could they not have seen it before? But there was only one way to find out if she was right.

* * *

The air whipped at her face, her eyes streaming as she soared the skies from atop Air, now a magnificent Pidgeot. The land melted away into the sea as they flew towards the small island, which was now a tiny speck in the distance. Within minutes, they were spiralling towards the ground carpeted with grass and Air came down into a smooth landing. As soon as her feet hit the floor, Sarah let Arcane out of his pokeball and he bounded off, running back and forth. Air stood tall and proud, scanning the landscape with her keen eyes until she suddenly opened her wings wide and took flight.

"Air!" Sarah shouted and started to run after her, but the distance between her and Air swiftly grew, Arcane was running far ahead of Sarah too and she was left behind. When she finally caught up with her pokemon, she felt her feet freeze, her breath catching in her throat.

"Wormy?" she whispered. The Beautifly looked even more beautiful than she remembered, her eyes were bright and shiny, her wings beating happily in the sun as she chased Air back and forth. Upon hearing her name, she turned to see her old trainer. A second of stillness settled over the scene, but then Wormy flew over, her wings throwing Sarah to the floor in a hug.

"Wormy! I'm so glad you're happy!" Sarah squealed, patting Wormy's head. The Beautifly then fluttered back into the air and hovered, looking at them all.

"Sarah!" a familiar voice shouted. Looking past Wormy, Sarah saw Bronte running towards her, Flare at her heels.

"Bronte!" Sarah grinned and rushed forward to hug her.

"What are you doing here?" Bronte asked.

"Oh, about that. I need to see your grandma," Sarah said, the grin fading from her face. Bronte's smile faltered as she looked over Sarah's shoulder.

"Sarah, where's Seth?" she asked, sounding worried.

"I need to see your grandma," Sarah repeated. Panic clouded Bronte's face and she looked around, hoping Seth was there, he had to be.

"Sarah! Is he okay?"

"Yes Bronte, he's fine. Really. I just need to know something," Sarah looked straight into Bronte's eyes, hoping to show her that she was being sincere. Bronte seemed to calm down and nodded, the turned to walk to her grandma's house.

* * *

"I knew you'd be back," the old lady smiled as Sarah walked in.

"How?"

"Bronte dear, the pokemon need feeding," the old lady said. Bronte seemed about to protest, but a raised eyebrow from the old lady made her turn and walk out.

"How did you know I would be back?" Sarah repeated. She wasn't scared of asking her questions anymore-she wanted to know everything.

"It was only a matter of time before you wanted to know what Seth wouldn't tell you,"

"Yeah, well Seth _did _tell me. And you know why? His mam _isn't _dead. She's going to tell him everything. And I _know _that you're involved somehow and I'm worried Seth is going to make a mistake, so you _have _to tell me what you know!" Sarah said firmly, leaning forward and staring intently at the old lady. The old lady's face hardened, horror seeping into her eyes as she listened to what Sarah said.

"Talia is... Alive?" she whispered.

"Yes. She is also angry. Very angry. She tried to kill me to get to Seth,"  
"And she intends to tell him everything?"

"Everything,"

"Then I am in trouble," the old lady said with a shakey voice.

"What do you know?" Sarah insisted.

"It was... My fault,"

"You mean you caught that pokemon?" Sarah asked,

"Yes. But I couldn't live with the guilt. You have to understand though, she killed my Barley! My very first pokemon! My little Eevee... So I unleashed Kallie. I shouldn't have done it, I knew she was too powerful, but Talia had angered me so much,"

"The Kangaskhan was yours. That's why you trapped her in the cave," Sarah said,

"Yes. She grew weak in the cave, I knew that when you said you had defeated her so easily. She was old, weak," the old lady shook her head, tears misting her eyes.

"And you told Seth you saw what had happened on the news, but Bronte told me you don't watch TV around here. So you must have been there,"

"You're right. You must understand my guilt, I couldn't believe what I had done. I had murdered an entire family, their pokemon too. But you do not know Talia like I do. She is vengeful, violent. And I fear that Seth may also feel that way. My Pringle is the only pokemon that remains powerful, I cannot protect myself. Talia will surely have a new team, a powerful one,"

"She does, but not as powerful as mine is now. Isn't that right Arcane?" Sarah looked down at her Growlithe and he barked, jumping up into her lap.

"CHILD! That pokemon should not be a Growlithe anymore! He has reached his potential as a Growlithe," the old lady cried out. She then stood up and bustled over to a cupboard, bringing out a large stone, mottled with red and orange and glowing like a fire burned within.

"Use this on him child,"

Sarah took the stone and put it in her bag,

"We need to talk first. I can defeat Talia no problem, but Seth is another matter altogether. I just need someone else to take out that stupid woman, otherwise my pokemon will be too beat up to take on Seth," Sarah said. She thought about Seth's pokemon, he had three new additions, a Claydol, an Aggron and a Shiftry. She hadn't really gotten to know those three very well, but the thought of having to battle Blair was hurtful to her, she loved that pokemon.

"What am I talking about? I mean, he promised me he wouldn't try and get revenge," Sarah said, trying to convince herself. Deep down she knew though, she knew he would fail to keep his promise.

She knew what it would come to in the end.


	51. You Can't Trust Anyone

_Sorry, I just think 'the old lady' sounds better than a name. She's just The Old Lady, you know?  
Anyway, here's the chapter... I hope you all like it._

Chapter 51

Arcane stared up at Sarah, a determined look in his eyes as she turned the fire stone over in her hands.

"You know that this mean you won't be a Growlithe anymore don't you?" she knelt down next to him and stroked his fur, remembering all the years she had been with him. Arcane nodded resolutely and Sarah sighed before holding the stone out to him. With a last look into Sarah's eyes, he took the stone in his mouth and suddenly a bright light flashed like lightning, making Sarah stumble backwards covering her eyes. Slowly, she moved her arms from over her head and looked at where Arcane's head should have been. Instead, there was a mass of sandy fur, glossy and thick. She looked up at Arcane, now a huge Arcanine towering over her. He tossed his new fur back out of his eyes, tipped his head back and let out a stream of red hot fire from his fanged mouth, sending tingles throughout Sarah's body. The sight of Arcane looking so fierce, so beautiful took her breath away. Tears sprang into her eyes as she jumped to her feet and ran over to hug him, burying her face in his shaggy fur. When she straightened up again, her head became level with his shoulder blades. A big sloppy tongue ran over her face and she looked up into Arcane's face-his eyes still the same-full of his usual sense of recklessness; his mouth still open in a happy grin, huge tongue lolling out. With a laugh, Sarah pulled herself onto his back and he set off at a sprint over the grass, his muscles rippling with power and speed as he flew over the ground, his paws pounding at the floor at a fierce pace. With her hands wrapped around his great mane, Sarah threw her head back and laughed, delighted to be sharing such a special moment with her best friend.

* * *

"He is truly a magnificant pokemon," the old lady smiled as Sarah dismounted Arcane.  
"He's beautiful," she grinned, patting his head.

"I am sorry to intrude on such a happy moment, but we must prepare. I have received information from Pringle that Talia is heading to this island as we speak,"

"WHAT? Right now?" Sarah cried out. She hadn't expected Talia to act so fast, and wondered how she could help the old lady and Bronte.  
"Bronte is securing the pokemon so they will not come to any harm, Flare, Figgy and Pringle will fight. But I do not pretend that we will stand much of a chance," the old lady hung her head, a frown creasing her brows.

"If only there were other trainers," she muttered.

"THAT'S IT!" Sarah shouted, clicking her fingers.

"What?"

"Hang on, I know two trainers who would be able to help. I just hope I can reach them in time," and with that, she threw a pokeball into the air and Air burst out of it with a cry,

"Air, I need you to fly me to Woodham! Arcane, return,"

* * *

Once again, she was flying through the air, but there wasn't much time now, Talia could be arriving at the island any moment and it had no protection. When Air landed, Sarah ran to a house she was all too familar with and hammered on the door.

"Sarah! What are you doing here?" Kaleb's mother gasped,

"I need Kaleb's pokegear number quickly!"

"I don't think you should call him, he's over at the gym-" Sarah didn't let her finish, she was already out the door before she had even finished. Once outside, she jumped onto Air and they flew to the other side of the island, landing outside of the gym.  
"Air, you did great," she said, the returned her before releasing Arcane. Taking a deep breath, she threw open the gym doors and ran inside, the huge Arcanine behind her.

"Sarah?"  
"Excuse me, we're about to have a battle here!" the gym leader said with a frown.

"Kaleb! Hayley! Please, you've got to come with me!" Sarah pleaded.

"Sarah, what's going on?" Kaleb came running over, a Gengar closely following him with a sinister grin on it's face.

"No time to explain, just come with me, please!" Sarah begged. Next thing she knew, she was being tackled to the floor by Hayley,

"I've missed you!" Hayley squealed.

"HAYLEY STOP! Look, there's a revenge bent woman heading to an island and she's going to try and... Hurt an old lady. There's a girl there too, Bronte. They need your help, please help them!"  
"What? Why can't you and Seth help?" Kaleb asked,

"He... Look, I need to stop him from doing something. It's really important Kale, please," she pleaded, looking into his eyes.  
"Right. We'll help," he said.

"Woah. Wait," Hayley said, making them both turn to stare at her.

"I can't.. I mean I'm not going. I can't. I'm not getting involved with something like_ that_!" she frowned,

"Hayley!" Sarah gasped, "You don't understand,"

"No I don't. I don't want to, it sounds scary. I'm sorry, but I can't do this," she said, her voice shaking.

"Hayley..." Sarah turned to look at her, but Hayley turned her back on her and walked out of the gym, leaving Sarah and Kaleb staring after her. Sarah stayed silent for a moment; feeling hurt and betrayed, she thought she could count on Hayley. Just another person she couldn't trust. Then she came to her senses.

"Kale, I'm going to the City of Dust to try and talk to Seth, but you have to stop Talia. Me and Air will take you to the island, but then you're on your own. I'm sorry," she sighed.  
"Don't be," he nodded encouragingly then they went outside to make their way to the island.

As they flew down to the island, a terrifying scene met their eyes. Figgy the Giraffarig was ferociously trying to deal blows to a Stantler whilst trying to dodge the deadly attacks from it and the Hitmonlee. The Lapras called Pringle was taking on another three of Talia's other pokemon, a Victreebell, a Torkoal and a Starmie singlehandedly. The old lady was anxiously yelling commands while Talia's malicious laughter echoed throughout the valley. The closer they flew, another detail came into view, a fiery canine crouching low over something, teeth bared in a furious snarl, trying to protect something from Talia's leering Sableye.  
"BRONTE!" Sarah screamed, jumping from Air's back and running over to Flare, who was crouching over the body of his trainer, which was ravaged and coated in blood. She knelt down next to the lifeless body of Bronte, tears falling thick and fast from her eyes, staring down into the blak face of her friend. Grief washed over her like a smothering wave, crashing into every part of her-threatening to drown her in it's misery. The battle around her seemed to stop, Bronte couldn't be dead, she was always too happy, always smiling.

Then a voice pierced through the haze of hurt, right to the core of her soul,

"YOU WILL BE NEXT, HE WILL MAKE SURE OF IT! HE WANTS YOU DEAD!"

Sarah turned, tears misting her vision and saw Talia laughing and pointing right at Kaleb.

Talia could only be talking about Seth. Seth, who had always hated Kaleb. He had hated Bronte too, and she was gone. Sarah stood up, determined to stop him. She looked up, expecting to see Air, but something else caught her eye. Her Beautifly.

Wormy was attacking Talia's pokemon viciously, and along with Kaleb's team, Talia was quickly losing. But surely Seth would arrive soon, and things would surely get worse then.

"Air, let's go!"

* * *

The mountains rose into view, the sun was starting to set, casting a pink glow across the land. Standing atop a peak there was a boy. He was staring out into the distance, thinking about all he had learnt-how much he loathed those people. He didn't care anymore-not when those he had trusted turned out to be the very ones who had murdered his family. He was ready, he was going to destroy their lives, just as they had destroyed his. Pulling a pokeball out of his pocket, he was about to release his pokemon when something caught his eye. A figure was flying towards him. He knew that pokemon. It drew closer and perched on the same mountain as him, a vast ravine seperated the two.

"I told you not to come," Seth muttered.  
"I know what happened Seth," Sarah replied.

"Well then you must know why I'm about to do this," he snarled.

"Do _what _exactly? Do you even know what's happened?" Sarah growled,

"Yeah. And I'm going to go and destroy everything that woman holds precious," Seth asnwered, toying with the pokeball in his hand.

"You don't get it do you? You're mother's already killed Bronte!" Sarah told him. Fresh tears rolled down her face as she said it, the finality of it hitting her like a speeding truck.

"Bronte?"

"Yes. Bronte," Sarah said harshly. Bree let out a shrill cry at the news and stood up, staring at Sarah intently.

"But it was only supposed to be the old lady. My mam said she wouldn't hurt anyone else," Seth spoke mainly to himself,

"Yeah well she _lied. _She killed Bronte and she wasn't going to stop until she had killed everything there, including the pokemon. It was lucky Kaleb got there when he did,"

"Kaleb? You mean... The Old Lady isn't dead?" Seth spoke with a new edge in his voice, he stood up straighter and Psycho howled. Sarah took a step back, walking into Arcane, his warm fur like a comfort to her.

"THIS IS ALL HER FAULT!" Seth roared, his voice echoing through the mountains.

"Seth-"

"She ruined EVERYTHING for me Sarah! She isn't going to get away with this!" his voice was full of fury, Bronte wasn't supposed to get hurt, the old lady shouldn't have let her get in the way anyway. She had let Bronte die just as he had let everyone else. She was going to pay.

"SETH STOP!"

"Don't try and get in my way Sarah!"

"I'm not letting you do this!" she insisted, stepping forward and staring at him over the ravine.

With a roar of rage, Seth pointed at Sarah and his Espeon leapt at her, claws stretched out and teeth bared. Sarah screamed and covered her face, but Arcane leapt over her head and knocked Psycho flying. Arcane crouched low to the ground, his body huge in comparison to the small Espeon, his teeth bared in a snarl. Psycho jumped back over to his owner, him and Bree both in a battle stance, ready to pounce.

"I'm not afraid Seth. And I'm not letting you hurt any more people,"

"So be it,"

* * *

Becoming The Best


	52. A Spear in the Sky

_I have to say, I really liked writing this chapter, even if it is rather sad :/  
__I keep repeating this, but I really do hope you like it._

* * *

Becoming The Best

Chapter 52

"Bree, Psycho, you know what to do,"

With a fierce howl from the the Umbreon and Espeon, they pounced over the ravine at Arcane. But he was ready. With a roar, he sent a flamethrower at the two, knocking Bree to the floor, but Psycho dodged it and sent a psybeam that hit Arcane, sending him reeling.

"Come on out Zen!" Sarah snarled, releasing the Jolteon into the fray.

"Zen, use double kick on the Umbreon, Arcane, use bite on the Espeon," she ordered, trying to avoid using their names-she needed to forget that she had gotten used to having them around. They were the enemy now.

Seeing the trouble his pokemon would be in, Seth released his Claydol: Rio.

Sarah retaliated by releasing Blue. In return, Seth released the rest of his team, so Sarah did the same.

Blair soared through the sky, now a Salamence, stretching her wings and grinning at the feeling of flying, until she realised she was supposed to be battling. She switched to battle mode and scanned for her opponent, but all she could see was her friends. She let out a confused cry to her trainer, who ordered her to attack.

Blue stood firmly in place, the Claydol making futile attempts at trying to knock him backwards. Blue simply stood laughing at him and shot jets of water at the clay figurine, then laughing at it dancing out of the way of the water. Suddenly, the Shiftry fired a leaf storm at the chuckling Blastoise, knocking him forwards. A terrifying roar erupted from him and he turned around, looking as intimidating as he could and lowered his head while a fresh stream of leaves cut into him like razors. Then, with all his strength, he rammed into the Shiftry with a powerful skull bash, flinging both of them over the ravine and smashing into the rock on the other side, Blue's shell protecting him from the impact. He stood up panting, the leaves had hurt him, but the Shiftry also rose, about to attack again, when a massive orange blur knocked him to the ground, flaming teeth crunching down onto the pokemon. With a shriek, it flapped a whirlwind up and blew Arcane away.

The Arcanine landed with a skid in front of Bree, who was in a fierce battle with Dragoon, the huge orange Dragonite trading blows with the ferocious Umbreon until a huge rock was flung into the back of his head, throwing him to the floor. He stood up shakily, dizzy from the impact when Bree jumped up and bit down on his arm while the Aggron stomped closer. Arcane jumped into action, shooting a flamethrower at Bree to dislodge her from Dragoon's arm. The Umbreon spun around and snarled at Arcane, ready for the fight. The Aggron picked up another rock and turned to throw it at Dragoon, when a gallons of water crashed over it, making it drop the rock and turn to tackle Blue.

Seeing that they were being taken care of, Dragoon turned his attention to the skies, where the dragon was looming over Zen.

With an almighty roar, Dragoon rocketed at Blair using outrage, thrashing at her with a fury only a dragon could muster. Blair fought back valiantly, slashing at Dragoon with her huge, sharp claws, leaving deep scratches in his tough hide. Dragoon growled angrily and continued his rampaging attack, until fatigue made his head spin. Blair continued her attacks while Dragoon struggled to make head nor tail of the dragon in front of him. Zen looked up, darting away from Psycho to jump up onto a ledge to get closer to the grappling dragons. The sun was low in the sky, casting long shadows across the battle as the moon started to rise, dark clouds gathering above. Zen looked up at the sky and closed her eyes in concentration, all went quiet in her head as she summoned all her energy. Her body tensed with the effort, her muscles shaking, her fur crackling with energy. Thunder rolled over head and Zen opened her eyes, a spear of wicked lightening thrust down from the heavens, booming like thunder as it struck it's target out of the sky with a shriek of pain. Blair hit the rock painfully and pulled herself back up.

She stomped her feet angrily and went to run at Zen but saw that the Aggron was already targeting her, lowering it's head, ready to strike with an overwhelming power. Seeing her friend in danger, Mars narrowed her eyes and started to make an earthquake. Sarah realised the danger this posed for her pokemon though, Zen would surely faint from the attack,

"AIR!" she called. Her Pidgeot flew over to her, abandoning her fight with Psycho. Sarah climbed on her back and Air took off,

"Grab Zen and drop her off on the other side of the ravine," she said. Air obliged and dropped the Jolteon off next to Arcane, who was spitting fire at the Shiftry. The Aggron stumbled and with a roar, fell down the sheer drop in the rock, his cry of terror resonating loudly. Seth screamed and ran forward, almost slipping down himself. Blair swooped down out of nowhere, catching Seth on her back and the Aggron in her claws, depositing it safely back onto the rock.

Then the Salamence turned in the air and flew at Mars in a rage, her head lowered and glowing with psychic energy, Seth still on her back,

"Air, stop her!" Sarah cried, pointing from the back of Air. The Pidgeot swerved in mid air and shot like a bullet at Blair, readying an air slash, however when she saw her target, she backed up with a flutter of wings that skimmed Blair's head. The sudden movement made the Salamence swerve and strike out at Air, sending her backwards with the impact. Blair immediately stopped attacking and stared at her best pokemon friend, horrified that she had just hurt her. They hung in the air for a second, suspended in a moment of realisation-they were friends, they couldn't fight eachother.

"Blair this is a battle, now use crunch!" Seth ordered.  
"Air, get away from it!" Sarah cried out. Air took flight, using all of her speed to fly away from the approaching Salamence, when out of nowhere a shadow ball was shot at them, throwing them off course. Air swiftly recovered and started flying again, Sarah clutching her Pidgeot as tightly as she could, her face pressed against Air's neck with her eyes pressed shut. She didn't want to think of what would happen if Air got hurt while she was this high up a rocky mountain. Suddenly, she felt the feathers she was clutching rip from Air's body and Sarah was hurtling through the air, down, down. The rockface was rushing ever closer, about to collide with her. Time seemed to slow right down, she could see everything clearly, in slow motion. She looked into Blue's face, the last thing she would see. The laughter in his face was bright, happy. Sarah felt herself smile-at least he was enjoying himself while he still could...

The moment was shattered, everything was happening so fast she couldn't make sense of it-the only thing she saw was a mass of orange fur hurtling towards her-jaws closing gently around her. She was lowered to the floor then she saw Arcane swivel and leap up again, this time catching Air. He placed Air gently down next to Sarah before licking her face, then turned back to the battle. Sarah clambered to her feet, thankful to her Arcanine for saving her life.

Then she turned to see Air and the world seemed to crash down around her.

* * *

Scrambling over the rock, she held her hands over Air's soft chest as scarlet liquid oozed out, coating her smooth feathers with it's stickiness. Tears streaked down Sarah's face as Air cooed softly, looking up into her trainers eyes.

"Please Air, please don't go!" Sarah sobbed, pushing harder on the wound to try and stem the bleeding. Air twittered in response, her voice growing faint.

"NO!" she screamed, collapsing onto her pokemon, holding Air tightly in her arms. With a great effort, she lifted up the Pidgeot in her arms, the bird pokemon was too big for Sarah to carry and she fell to her knees, still clutching Air closely.

A pained yelp made Sarah look up. Zen was lying on the floor breathing heavily, struggling to get up while Psycho shot a confusion at her. Seeing her Jolteon writhing around in pain was too much for Sarah to bear. Letting go of Air, she took out her team's pokeball's and a bandage. She wrapped the bandage around Air's chest, praying to a god she wasn't sure was there that it would help until she could get to a pokecentre. She then returned all of her pokemon, including Arcane and knelt down, holding Air close to her.

"Fine, you win. ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?" she screamed, tears streaming down her face as she stared up at Seth, suspended in the air on Blair.

The Salamence took one look at the Pidgeot that lay bleeding in her trainers arms and screeched, a shrill cry of grief that shook the rocks. Seth stared down, horrified at the bloody sight. The sun had disappeared, the moon hidden behind the dull clouds as night hung in the air. Seth returned his pokemon without a word, Blair's tortured cries breaking through the silence of the night.

"I'm sorry," Seth croaked, his voice cracking. Then he and Blair turned and flew off into the night.


	53. The Grounded Saviour

Becoming The Best

Chapter 53

The soft warm liquid was slowly seeping out of the Pidgeot's chest, turning the white bandage a deep red. Sarah knelt next to her beloved pokemon, desperately trying to figure out what to do. Her Dragonite was too weak to carry them back down and Arcane wouldn't be able to carry them both down safely. The thought of putting Air back in her pokeball while she was so weak hurt her, she wanted to be with her, to see her, to know she was still there. So that left her stuck on the mountain, with her dying Pidgeot and no way to get help. With a dead weight in her stomach, she held Air even closer to her and started rocking her backwards and forwards, muttering empty comforts to her as tears flowed down her face.

* * *

"You look like you could use some help,"

Sarah looked up, relief filling her up as she saw a great green pokemon flapping it's wide wings, Hayley sitting on it's back.

Hayley, the girl she had thought to have abandoned her, here. Saving her from one of the worst tortures she'd ever had to endure-sitting with no escape with her dying pokemon. A laugh escaped her throat, the happiness she felt inside her made her dizzy as she stared up at the dragon flapping in front of her. Trust Hayley to have a dragon that was also part ground.

Her grounded saviour.

"Hayley!" Sarah gasped, new tears falling from her eyes.

"I heard you telling Kaleb you'd be here. Guess that's lucky. Oh my gosh, what's wrong with Air?" she asked in shock, jumping down her Flygon and running over. Sarah couldn't speak, the shock of everything was welling up inside her, threatening to overwhelm her.  
"Okay, okay. Skittle, you take Air and fly her to the pokecentre," Hayley ordered the Flygon. It nodded and gently prised the Pidgeot from Sarah's bloodened hands,

"NO AIR DON'T GO!" Sarah screamed, watching her pokemon being carried away, enveloped in the darkness. Hayley grabbed Sarah to try and calm her down, but she was hysterical, screaming and sobbing as she stared out at the sky.

"Sarah, Sarah calm down!" Hayley tried to console her, but it wasn't working.

"Churro, come on out," she said in exasperation, releasing her Marowak. He took one look at the hysterical trainer and hit her over the head with his bone angrily.

Sarah immediately stopped screaming and looked in shock at the Marowak. She stared at him for a few moments, pulling her thoughts together.

"I'm sorry Sarah, but you need to pull yourself together. Air is safe now, she's probably already at the pokecentre. Look, we'll get there super quick if we hitch a ride off Jawbreaker," Hayley smiled apologetically and a flash of red let illuminated the darkness, revealing a huge Steelix.

"Jaw.. Jawbreaker?" Sarah asked, confused.

"Yeah, isn't he beautiful," Hayley said in admiration, patting the rock hard body of her pokemon.

"Yeah... Beautiful," Sarah nodded in agreement, staring up at the towering creature.

"Yep. Come on up," Hayley said, and she lifted Sarah up, placing her on one of the rocks that made up the Steelix's body.  
"Okay, now hold onto that big spikey thing," Hayley said, flapping her hand toward a large metal pole-like thing sticking out of the Steelix.

"Thanks Hayley. Really, thank you. I dunno what I would have done if you hadn't turned up," Sarah tunred around and hugged Hayley, not knowing how she was ever going to make it up to her,

"Don't worry about it. Look, I'm sorry for... You know, walking out before, I was just scared is all," Hayley was shouting, the sound of rocks smashing was all around them now as Jawbreaker crashed his way through the rocks,

"It's fine, really. I should never have doubted you,"

"Sarah, what happened here? Did Seth do this?"

"He. Yeah he did," Sarah bent her head, tears still leaking from her eyes.

"Oh. Well that's not good," Hayley frowned,

"No it's not," Sarah sighed,  
"So where did he go?"

"What?" Sarah sat up straighter, she hadn't thought of that. What if he had gone to hurt somebody else? What if he already had?

"Where did he go?" Hayley repeated,  
"Hayley, how strong are Kalebs pokemon?"

"Oh, about the same level as yours I would guess, in their 60's,"

"Okay, I'm sure he can hold his own," Sarah told herself. She knew Kaleb was smart-he could handle himself against Seth.

"Yeah, his team is pretty tough. It was quite funny actually, at that festival there was this person and he thought he was so cool, but then Kaleb totally crushed his team. That shut him up," Hayley laughed and Sarah felt a pang-why had she ever left them?

* * *

They arrived at the City of Dust, the air cool and calming, but Sarah was feeling anything but. Her footsteps were loud as she pounded the concrete to get to the pokecentre. Throwing open the doors, she saw the Flygon standing in a corner, waiting for them. When Hayley came in, it flew over and hugged her. There was no one else around apart from a nurse at the front desk, typing away at a computer.

"Excuse me! My Pidgeot, is she okay?" Sarah asked, running over to the desk.

"Pardon?" the nurse said, stifling a yawn,  
"My Pidgeot, she's in here, please tell me where she is,"

"Oh, oh that pokemon is yours? Dear, dear how did you let her get in such a state?" Nurse Joy reprimanded her and started spouting lots of medical words that were just noise in Sarah's ears, all she cared about was whether or not Air would survive,

"Can I just see her please?" Sarah asked in desperation.

"Yes yes, okay. Are your other pokemon okay?" Nurse Joy asked worriedly.

"They're just a little tired is all," Sarah sighed, handing Nurse Joy her pokeballs for her to run through the machine.

"Nurse, why couldn't you put Air through the machine," Sarah asked as the catchy jingle floated from the machine, showing that her pokemon were healed.

"Dear, her wounds were too severe, that machine is merely for superficial injuries, minor things," the Nurse explained, handing Sarah her pokeballs and leading her through the centre. She saw Sarah's face drop when she heard that, so she added,

"Plus, her pokeball wasn't with her," she let out a forced laugh, trying to lighten the situation, but Sarah simply hung her head and continued following her in silence.

"Well, she's in there. She's going to be okay, but don't put her under too much strain for a while," she smiled politely and left, leaving Sarah staring down at her pokemon.

Air looked up, the light in her eyes brighter than ever as she gazed up at her trainer.

"You're okay," Sarah whispered, even more tears falling as a smile spread across her face. Her Pidgeot was going to be okay, and that was all that mattered to her.

* * *

"Are you sure you want to move out already?" Hayley asked Sarah in concern as they walked out of the city, the sun rising over the horizon.

"Yeah, we've got to move quickly-who knows what's happened overnight. I just hope everyone's alright," Sarah trailed off, not wanting to think of the destruction Seth could have caused, not wanting to know who else he may have hurt. Arcane was trotting by her side, Air hopping by his side-Sarah was refusing to keep her inside her pokeball until she had healed properly.  
"We could fly now you know," Hayley said, motioning to Air, who was stretching her wings, itching to take to the skies.

"Yeah, but I don't want her carrying me while she has a bad chest,"

"I was under the impression you had a dragon," Hayley raised her eyebrows at Sarah,

"Air could fly alongside you,"

"That my friend, is a very good point," Sarah smiled, releasing Dragoon. The great Dragonite smiled gently at Hayley, bowing his head slightly towards her. Hayley smiled back and released Skittle-her Flygon. The green dragon took one look at Dragoon and together they took to the air, racing one another back and forth, when suddenly, with a great flutter of wings, Air rose up and joined them, crying out in delight.

"Guys, come on we need to get to that island. Air, you fly in front-you know where it is," Sarah told Air, then they took off, flying through the air towards the island, not knowing what to expect when they got there.

"I just hope everyone's okay," Sarah whispered to herself.


	54. Torn and Twisted

Becoming The Best

Chapter 54

He was down to his last pokemon, his oldest, most experienced pokemon. The purple ghost stood staring down his last two opponents. A dark and a psychic. He didn't stand much of a chance-they were both super effective against the Gengar. But he wasn't going to give up yet. They had battled long into the night, the sun was starting to rise in the east, they were all exhausted, but it wasn't over. If the opponent won then it would all have been a waste. Their efforts to protect their trainer would have been in vain. The blonde haired boy was fighting to the death.

"Give it up Kaleb, I don't want to hurt your pokemon," Seth frowned, looking at the Gengar in front of them, it's eerie teeth bared in a ghostly snarl. Kaleb looked down at his pokemon, his Gengar was going to get hurt, he didn't want that to happen. The fact that Seth was here and Sarah wasn't must have meant that he had killed her too. A fury was coursing through his veins, burning throughout him and he looked up into Seth's face. Forgetting about the battle, forgetting about the two pokemon poised to strike, Kaleb ran forward to attack Seth. Before he got anywhere near him, Bree and Psycho pounced, their claws tearing at his flesh, their teeth ripping into him. He fell to the floor, the two siblings not relenting their attack as they tore into him. Suddenly, a new pain exploded over him, and Psycho and Bree were thrown from him, lost in a ball of shadowy mist. Psycho looked up into the shadow ball, a leering face appearing through it, then Hotch the Gengar threw a sickening punch from the safety of the shadow ball, Psycho hit the floor with a thud, out cold.

Hotch cackled at his victory, revelling in the defeat of the psychic. Now all he had to do was defeat the Umbreon. Turning around, he saw the Umbreon swiftly advancing on him,

"Use assurance!" he heard it's trainer yell. Knowing this move would be devastating, Hotch immediately tried to get out of the way, but the move caught him head on, pain exploding through him as he hit the floor. The pain was surfing through his body, with each beat of his heart the pain thudded dully through him. He tried to push himself backup but his arms buckled beneath him. Black dots shrouded his vision as he strained to look around, then his eyes fell on his trainer. Kaleb was lying in a crumpled heap, his flesh torn and mangled, a pool of blood congregating beneath him as his wounds bled angrily. Hotch felt something wet leak out of his eye and he realised he was crying. It was the end.

He felt the hot breath of the Umbreon on his neck as it picked him up in it's jaws and flung him across the grass, where the Gengar landed next to his mauled trainer. Hotch reached out and took his trainers hand in his, suprised at the warmth that was still there. Kaleb was still breathing, still holding on. He squeezed Hotch's hand and Hotch squeezed it back, pushing out the pain that was circulating him. Hotch forced himself up, to keep battling. For his trainer.

Bree turned around suddenly, sensing the Gengar approaching. She marvelled at the strength of her opponent, but she wasn't going to let it win. She growled a warning, and crouched, about to pounce, when Seth shouted a warning to her. Startled, she turned around to see a huge Dragonite flying towards her, then it threw a punch with unbelievable power, knocking the Umbreon flying. Dragoon landed, standing up straight and proud. He threw his head back in triumph and let out a stream of blue fire, daring the Umbreon to attack again. Bree looked up at the dragon fearfully and slunk back over to Seth, wrapping herself around his feet.

"Sarah!" Hayley gasped, her voice full of fear. Sarah who was standing next to Dragoon, staring at Seth tore her gaze away and looked over to Hayley. Her face was full of horror and she was pointing to the ground. Following her pointed finger, her eyes rested on the crumpled figure of her best friend. His chest was heaving up and down, his breath ragged and uneven. He was in pain.

"Kaleb, you're going to be okay," Sarah said. Instead of going to Kaleb, Sarah turned to look at Seth. His face was white, his eyes full of fear. He looked tense and weary, he was shaking uncontrollably and staring down at Kaleb. But Sarah was past feeling sorry for him, he had hurt too many people that were close to her.

"You've gone too far this time Seth," she said darkly. She held out her hand and Arcane burst out of his pokeball, his prescence made her feel safer.

"You've got to understand, my family are dead," he said blankly,

"That's no freaking excuse! If anything you should have realised how much this would hurt everyone! You're not the only one in this world Seth! Your actions affect other people too! Bronte was my friend! Kaleb is my friend!" Sarah shouted.

"But,"

"NO BUTS! I GAVE YOU A CHANCE TO STOP AND YOU TRIED TO KILL MY POKEMON!" Sarah screamed. At the mention of pokemon, Arcane growled angrily.

"But I didn't mean for this to happen! I didn't mean for any of this to happen," he stammered, his voice broke and tears rolled down his cheeks. His knees buckled and he fell to the floor, his fists clenching the grass.

"Yeah? Well it did happen. You better pray that Kaleb pulls through, otherwise you will have me to answer to," she growled,

"NO! Sarah you can't do that! Don't you get it?" Hayley cried out. Sarah turned around in shock, Hayley was sitting over Kaleb, her first aid kit by her side a she tried to do all she could for him.

"What do you mean?" Sarah said darkly-she couldn't let Seth get away with what he had done.

"This whole entire thing started because of revenge! IT DOESN'T WORK! Revenge is evil Sarah and if you hurt him then you will be just as bad as he is!" she spoke with a venom,

"I... You're right," Sarah said, looking from Hayley to Seth.

"Let's just get out of here, we have to get Kaleb to a hospital," Sarah sighed, walking over to her Kaleb.  
"Eventually," Hayley spat, glaring angrily at Sarah, who recoiled at the look,

"What?"

"Getting him to a hospital should have been the first thing we did," she muttered.

"Well we're getting him to a one now. Dragoon can take him," Sarah scowled,

"No, Skittle will take him," Hayley said,  
"Dragoon is bigger, he can carry him safely," Sarah insisted,

"Fine, but Skittle is going with him," Hayley frowned. Dragoon came over and gently lifted Kaleb into his strong arms, before flying off to the nearest hospital in Glistenport.

"How do we get away?" Hayley said,  
"Blue knows surf, he'll get us across the sea," Sarah replied. Together, they walked across the island and Sarah released Blue. The Blastoise grinned widely when he saw the water and jumped straight in. Sarah returned Arcane then waded into the water.

"There won't be enough room on his shell for both of us to sit comfortably, so just try and sit on and grab one of his cannons," Sarah said. Hayley did as Sarah suggested and Blue kicked off, powerfully swimming through the waves.

"Sarah, I'm sorry for snapping before, I'm just worried," Hayley said in a small voice.

"So am I Hayley. So am I,"


	55. A Matter of Time

Becoming The Best

Chapter 55

It just didn't seem right. All of the background noise, phones ringing, people talking, it all seemed so _normal_. But at that moment, everything was far from normal-Sarah's best friend was lying in intensive care while everyone else was walking around as if nothing was wrong. She felt alone, isolated. Hayley was sitting next to her and Kaleb's parents were down the hall, but they sat in silence. Every time they went to talk the pointless conversation only intensified the tension-making it more obvious that they were trying to distract themselves-so they had settled to merely sitting. Waiting.

The minutes stretched into hours, and still they sat there, each second was torture until eventually Kaleb's parents walked in, ashen-faced. Sarah looked up, craving information, hoping that her friend would be okay.

"He has to stay in. We should go home," Kaleb's dad said in a hollow voice. His wife whimpered and he pulled her close before walking out of the hospital.

"Hayley, you can sleep at mine tonight," Sarah mumbled as she stood up. As she did so, the hospital spun before her eyes and her surroundings all blurred together. She knew what was happening but couldn't move her hands or feet to stop herself from hitting the stark white floor.  
"Sarah!" Hayley cried, starting forward in alarm.

"No no it's fine, I'm fine," Sarah grimaced, screwing up her eyes and pushing herself up off the floor, "It's just head rush,"

"Don't scare me!" Hayley frowned, tears jumping into her eyes,

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Look, we better go back to mine and get some rest,"

* * *

When they walked into the house, an overwhelming sense of being home hit Sarah. She hadn't realised how much she had missed the deep cream carpets and the fresh smell of home picked berries that clung to the house. Peaches the Aipom bounded over to greet Sarah, a basketfull of freshly baked bread spread with home made jam in her outstretched paws. Sarah's parents came hurrying out of the kitchen, where they had been sitting at the table and flung their arms around her, sobbing heavily.

"Mam, dad. this is Hayley," Sarah nodded towards Hayley once her parents had stood back. The two adults then pulled Hayley into a hug too, before standing back to get a good look at the girls. Their faces were drawn and pale, dark shadows cast under their eyes and they had a distinct look of being under nourished.

"My gosh! When was the last time you girls ate?" Sarah's mother gasped in shock. Sarah frowned. In actual fact, she couldnt remember. They had left the City of Dust in a hurry, skipping any kind of food they ought to have eaten there, so it had been at least an entire day, maybe even two, since she had eaten anything. It was only then that she actually realised, and the crippling hunger pain shot through her stomach.

"Too long," she groaned.

Her mother hurriedly grabbed the basket from her Aipom and shoved it uner the girls noses. They chewed their way through their food in silence, then headed up to bed in low spirits, the sight of Kaleb' mangled body fresh in their minds. Hayley was shown into Dasiy's old room and Sarah climbed into her own bed, inhaling the smell of home deeply. The darkness seemed to envelope her, and the comfort of being home seemed to ward off all the bad thought circulating in her head. The familiar smell brought back memories of happier times.

* * *

The weeks passed at an excrutiatingly slow pace, every day Sarah and Hayley would visit the hospital. Every day they sat by his bed for hours at a time, before getting told to leave. Their pokemon were scarecly in their pokeballs anymore, they were free to roam the island as they wished, always coming back when needed, or at night to be returned to their pokeballs. Arcane never left Sarah's side if he could help it. When she was in the hospital, he would wait loyally by the door waiting for her. After weeks upon weeks of this routine, Kaleb was finally strong enough to leave the hospital with strict instructions of no strenuous exercise for at least 6 weeks. That meant no training.

"Kaleb, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault," Sarah apologised as her, Kaleb and Hayley sat in Kaleb's room.

"Don't worry about it," he replied,

"No, you told me not to leave Woodham but I did anyway. You were worried about me, and _you _were the one that got hurt. I should've listened to you,"

"Sarah, if anything it was my fault! I should have realised that not getting on that ship wouldn't have stopped you doing what you wanted. I should have just let you on the damn ship,"

"Hey, it's _obviously _my fault. I should've been there on the island with Kaleb instead of running away," Hayley added. The three teenagers sat on the bed looking at eachother, none of them contradicting eachother because they each knew that every one of them felt responsible, no matter what was said.

"At least we went through this together," Hayley said, braving a smile.

"You're right," Sarah replied. Kaleb put his arms around their shoulders and they sat together, knowing they could pull through it simply because they had eachother.

* * *

"So when are you going to get your last badge?" Kaleb asked Sarah after a while.

"When you're allowed to come with me," she replied.  
"Don't forget about me," Hayley piped in.  
"I can't let you do that, it'll take months,"

"Just beacuse we didn't start our journey together doesn't mean we can't finish it together," Sarah said firmly.

"Guys. I don't mean to be a killjoy or anything but... Well it's been months since that day. We don't know what happened to them," Hayley frowned.

"What?"

"You know... The old lady and the woman and... And Seth," Hayley finished, looking at the floor. Her sentence was met with silence.  
"I was wondering what had happened. Why we haven't heard anything more," she added. Her questions hung in the air, the unspoken thoughts of all three of them. A deep growl rumbled through the room as Arcane looked up at Hayley, his teeth curled over his fangs.  
"He doesn't like thinking about it," Sarah explained, patting the head of her huge Arcanine, who was lying on the floor, taking up all the floorspace.

"None of us do," Kaleb said darkly.

"But we can't just go on as if nothing happened. We can't ignore it," Hayley insisted.

"Ignorance is bliss," Kaleb sighed. He knew they would have to find out what happened, he even wanted to know himself. But he was scared.

"No it's not. Look, I say we go back to the island,"

"Do we have to?" Kaleb sighed, lying back onto the bed.

"Sarah, what do you say?" Hayley said, turning to look at Sarah. She sat there, looking from Hayley to Kaleb, both of their eyes on her.

"I have to agree with Hayley," she said, avoiding Kaleb's disappointed look.

"Okay. Now we go,"

"No strenuous exercise, remember?" Kaleb said pointedly.

"Dragoon can carry you," Sarah concluded. Kaleb sighed but sat up anyway. He knew an argument against two determined teenage girls was pointless.

* * *

The island was calm and quiet. All signs of the horror that had befallen it had been erased. Standing at the top of the valley, it looked the same to Sarah as it had the very first time she had been there. The breeding pokemon were grazing happily, the grass swaying in the wind. It all seemed so peaceful. But then something that wasn't there last time caught her eye. A collection of brilliant white stones, shrouded by a cloud of purple. Sarah jumped up onto Arcanes back, pulling Kaleb up too then bounded off down the side of the valley while Hayley hitched a ride off her Steelix. As they drew closer, Kaleb's Gengar let out a cackle and floated over to join the purple shroud, which they discovered to be a gathering of ghost pokemon, mainly Gastley and Haunter. The brilliant white stones shone through the purple mass and Sarah realised what they were. A sinister air surrounded the tombstones, yet there was a distinct feeling of peace. Walking through the crowd of pokemon, Sarah knelt down in front of Bronte's tombstone, staring at the writing that was intricately carved into it. A single silent tear fell and sunk into the ground at Sarah's feet. Her friend was at least at rest. She then turned to see the other graves. Suprisingly, she saw Talia's name engraved onto a one, surrounded by the graves of her team. Sarah found herself wondering why anyone would want to make a grave for someone so malicious when Hayley's words rang in her ears.

_Revenge doesn't work._

Maybe someone had finally forgiven her. A sudden thought hit her and she stared around at the rest of the graves. Seth had hurt her yes, but she didn't want to find his name among the stones. Thankfully, the rest of the graves marked the lives of the pokemon who had given their lives in that battle. One name in particular stood out to Sarah and her stomach knotted as she read it.

"No. No please no!" Sarah's cry rang out and her friends ran over to her. Kaleb read the gravestone and understood. He put his arms around Sarah and pulled her up,

"Sarah don't worry, she's in a better place now," he said soothingly,  
"Who's Wormy?" Hayley asked tactlessly.

"She's the best Beautifly to have ever lived!" Sarah answered, wiping her eyes as she remembered the small Wurmple fighting off the flock of Tailow back in Woodham.

"And I'm proud to have been her trainer," she said resolutely, standing up and looking fondly down at the white tombstone.

"I see you found my graveyard,"

The group turned around and saw an old lady hobbling towards them,  
"You did this?" Sarah asked, stepping forward to meet the old lady,

"Yes. I decided it was time to forget the past. Making this is my way of remembering what happened, as a testiment to remember all the lessons that were learnt here. I gather that you learnt something?"

"Yes. We did," Sarah nodded.

"Very well. I wish you luck on your journey," the old lady smiled. Possibly the first time Sarah had seen her do it.  
"Wait!" Hayley called out,

"Yes?"

"What about Seth?" she asked.  
"What about him?" the old lady answered,

"What happened to him?" she asked uncertainly.  
"He left," the old lady replied infuriatingly,

"Where to?" Hayley frowned.  
"I don't know. He just left,"

"Good riddance," Kaleb muttered.  
"So you don't know where he is?" Sarah interrupted,

"No. But don't worry, he seemed totally subdued. I can assure you he won't be causing any more trouble again,"

"So he's just gone?" Hayley asked again,

"Yes. Now I have to go and sort out some of the pokemon. Goodbye," and with that she hobbled off again to tend to some of the pokemon. The three teenagers stood staring at eachother.

"He just... Left?"

"Is this it? After everything that happened, we're just supposed to leave it like this?"

"Who cares? Look, the scary lady's dead and the psycho kid is gone. We don't have anything to worry about anymore," Kaleb smiled, finally feeling content. He didn't have to worry about Seth turning up and attacking him again.

"So we just forget about it do we?" Hayley snapped,

"Well yes, I think we should. All's well that ends well, right?" Kaleb shrugged.

"No!" Hayley protested.

"What else is there for us to do?" Sarah pointed out.

"We should find him!"

"Why? What good will that do?"  
"Exactly! I say that that chapter of our lives is closed now. It should stay closed," Kaleb frowned.  
"Don't you want closure though?"

"I have closure," Kaleb shrugged,

"I just want things to be normal again," Sarah sighed.

"And what's normal?"

"Getting my last badge and defeating the champion,"  
"Getting my last badge and _becoming _the champion," Kaleb said.

"It's the same thing Kaleb," Sarah laughed.

"Well I guess we should get going," Hayley sighed.

* * *

8 months later, the trio arrived at the Elite Four. Sarah took the challenge first, battling her way through the four elitists before standing in front of the Champion. Her eyes widened as the Champion turned to face her.

"I guess it was only a matter of time before you showed up here,"

* * *

_Sorry I haven't updated in a while, anyway-it's here now :)_


	56. I Wanna Be The Very Best

_Wow, sorry I haven't written in so long, I guess I was waiting for inspiration or something. Well I did get a sudden urge to write again, I mean it's not like I would just give up on writing it.  
Anyway, I'm blathering. Here's the next chapter, thanks for reading/reviewing/etc. :)_

* * *

Becoming The Best

Chapter 56

"Who in their right mind would even _consider_ letting youbecome a champion?" Sarah spat, staring up into the face of the Champion, whose face was framed by a curtain of blonde hair.

"My team wiped the floor with the last Champion, and every challenger I have met since then," Hazel sneered, tossing her hair over her shoulder. Sarah didn't answer, instead she ground her teeth and glared angrily at the girl in front of her.

"It took you a while to get here, I was starting to think you wouldn't turn up at all. I wouldn't put it past you though, you don't have it in you to become Champion,"

"You wanna bet?" Sarah growled defiantly,

"I have already beaten you once, I can do it again,"

"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you," Sarah snarled, pulling out her first pokeball.

"You don't have the guts to be like me," Hazel laughed, then threw her pokeball forward at the same time as Sarah. Two enormous pokemon burst forth, Sarah's Dragonite hovered in the air and leaned back slightly as he measured his opponent. Hazel laughed as she looked at her former pokemon,  
"So you actually kept that pathetic weakling?" Hazel smirked, folding her arms. Sarah made to answer but Dragoon let out a ferocious roar that made even the composed Champion take a step back, then he dove at the Bastiodon in front of him in an attack. Water sloshed around his tail as he slammed it into his foe, sending it reeling.

"Rocky, use ancient power!" Hazel yelled. The large pokemon lifted it's head to glare at Dragoon, who was getting ready to attack again, then sent a crushing weight of rocks crashing down onto Dragoon, knocking him clean out of the air. With a flick of his tail, he smashed the rocks into pieces and rose up into the air. Another large rock was thrown a him so he twisted in the air to avoid it and sent a wave of water crashing down onto the Bastiodon. Hazel growled threateningly and Rocky snorted then pawed at the ground as he lowered his large head. Narrowing his eyes, Dragoon swished his tail ready to attack with another aqua tail but Rocky suddenly charged, striking him head on with an iron head attack. Dragoon soared across the room and collided with the wall, which collapsed around him. A laugh echoed through the room and Sarah looked sharply at Hazel.

"I always knew that pokemon was weak," she sneered. Sarah didn't answer. But she didn't need to because Dragoon let out a furious howl and flung himself at Rocky, attacking him with such ferocity that the Bastiodon didn't have time to retaliate before it fainted. As his foe lay unconcious, Dragoon landed on the floor breathing heavily and staring at Hazel with a defiant glint in his eye.

"Good going Dragoon," Sarah smiled.

"Rocky was just tired from his last battle, you still won't win," Hazel scowled as she returned her pokemon. Within seconds, she had released her second pokemon, a Kabutops.

"Pebble use night slash!" Hazel cried. The Kabutops leapt into action with great speed, slashing at Dragoon's underbelly with his scythe-like hands. Dragoon let out a melodic cry and clutched his stomach in pain before using outrage. He flew at Pebble with a terrifying force, beating the Kabutops with his powerful tail and muscly limbs. Pebble fought back with vicious slashes, but Dragoon ignored the pain as he continued his attack until his opponent fainted.

"That was amazing Dra-" Sarah stopped short as she looked at her Dragonite-he was covered in deep gouges that were oozing blood and he was bent over in an effort to keep his breathing steady.

"Dragoon you did amazingly," Sarah told him fondly, before returning him to the safety of his pokeball. Hazel said nothing but stared darkly at Sarah, clutching her next pokeball with white knuckles.

"Are you going to release you're next pokemon then? Or are you too scared?" Sarah taunted, smiling as she saw Hazel's eyes glint with anger. With a flick of the wrist, Hazel hurled the pokeball forward and an Empoleon burst forth. With a smile, Sarah lifted her own pokeball to release Zen, just as Hazel shouted a command,

"Use stealth rock!" she shouted, and the Empoleon did as she said, spreading sharp rocks that levitated right where Zen was materialising, so they cut right through her skin, leaving nasty cuts as she tumbled to the floor.

"That's not fair!" Sarah shouted.

"Life's not fair, get over it!" Hazel shot back. Meanwhile, Zen was recovering from the sharp rocks, but before she could pull herself to her feet, the Empoleon sent a wave of frothing water crashing over her, knocking her straight back over.

"Quick use thunder!" Sarah yelled. Zen was still underwater, but heard her trainer's instruction. She closed her eyes and summoned all her power into a spear of lightning that thundered down, narrowly missing the Empoleon. However, it struck the floods of water surrounding the smug looking pokemon and sent shockwaves of energy through the waves right at the oversized penguin. With a shriek of pain, it was sent rocketing through the air from the shock and hit the wall with a clang-it's metal skin somewhat protecting it from the impact. Zen then regained her posture and stood up, calmly gazing at her opponent as torrents of water rushed around her.

"Granite, use aqua jet!" Hazel ordered. The Empoleon (called Granite) opened it's beak and sent a jet of water aimed right at Zen, who remained where she was, ready for the attack,

"You really are stupid aren't you?" Sarah smirked, "You know what to do Zen,"

The Jolteon nodded slightly, a small smile crossing her mouth as she waited for the right moment. Just as the aqua jet was about to strike her, she used shock wave and sent the electricity shooting up the water, straight to the back of the Empoleon's throat. Hazel let out a strangled cry of rage as Granite hit the floor painfully while Zen was still standing calmly infront of Sarah. Then, much to Sarah's suprise, Granite slowly stood up and glared angrily at Zen and without warning started to stamp it's feet, causing a wicked earthquake. Zen collapsed to the floor immediately, the impact of the earthquake knocking her out cold. After the attack was over Granite fell to the floor, too fatigued to continue. A feeling of anger swept over Sarah as she stared at Hazel, hating her all over again. Her face set into a snarl and she reached for her next pokeball with a renewed earnest to win.

* * *

Blue burst from the ball and looked around, sensing that this was a very important battle. So he started to laugh.

"Your pokemon can't even take a battle seriously, do you honestly expect to win?" Hazel spat coolly, releasing her next pokemon. A Metagross appeared, looking angry and formidable.

"Blue, use earthquake,"

"Quick, use magnet rise!"

The Metagross created a magnetic field around itself and levitated off the floor, protecting it from the deadly earthquake that Blue created.

"Okay use surf,"

"Use meteor mash!" Hazel yelled as a wave crashed over the arena again, throwing the Metagross around in the waters. After the water drained, the Metagross fired a punch like a meteor that struck Blue hard, cracking his shell slightly. He bellowed loudly and turned to face the Metagross, furious at it. He grabbed the body of the Metagross, forgetting the danger he was putting himself in, and started to bombard it with water attacks. Suddenly, he swung the pokemon around and flung it at the wall, where it left a large indent. Blue then started laughing manically and danced around, holding his hands up to the ceiling as he did so.

"What is that supposed to be?" Hazel sneered. A deep rumble of thunder could be heard and clouds gathered in the room, before they unleashed a flurry of rain down. Hazel screamed and put her hands over her head in an attempt to stop her hair from getting wet while Sarah grinned and stared up into the rain. Blue then turned his focus to the Metagross, but it was too late. It was already sending a powerful beam of energy at him that Sarah recognised as a hyper beam.

"BLUE MOVE OUT THE WAY!" Sarah screamed. Blue however, shook his head with a small chuckle. He stood ready and braced himself, before unleashing the power of his hydro pump.

The two attacks exploded as they struck eachother and Blue felt himself slide back a little, but he preservered and mustered the strength to put a foot forward. Marble was caught off gaurd and almost let the attacks overpower it, but he managed to hold his ground. In an attempt to intimidate his opponent, Blue let out an evil laugh, making even Sarah a little scared. Hazel backed even further away and wondered what would happen to her pokemon, but the Metagross was just encouraged to put more effort into his hyper beam. Annoyed, Blue roared and stepped closer. The rain was beating hard off the concrete floor with rhythmical thuds. Blue listened to the rhythm of the rain and let it flow through him, until a sudden unbelievable blast of power erupted from his cannons, sending both attacks blasting into the Metagross, the combined forces annihilated the pokemon and it crumpled at the feet of the Blastoise.

"It's a good thing he doesn't take battling too seriously isn't it?" Sarah smiled cockily.

* * *

Hazel stared in horror at her pokemon, astounded at the power of the Blastoise in front of her.

She then returned her Metagross and stood up straight, her wet hair plastered to her face, black streaks of mascara running down her cheeks as she stood in the rain, looking thunderous.

"Turf, come on out!" Hazel called, bringing a Nidoking out onto the arena. Blue was still recharging from his previous attack, so Turf took immediate action, using a powerful mega horn. The massive Nidoking rammed into Blue with its tough horn, almost knocking the Blastoise out cold. Blue groaned in pain and sent another hydro pump at the Nidoking, dealing some serious damage to it.

"Turf, use focus energy," Hazel told her pokemon. Sarah saw her chance and told Blue to use surf, but he was still recharging from using hydro pump. Turf then turned and jumped at Blue with a double kick, but Blue used surf before the attack connected. Sarah returned Blue, he was too exhausted to battle, and Hazel returned her fainted Nidoking.

"You might have gotten this far, but you know for a fact that Boulder will crush all of your pokemon into dust!" Hazel stated, releasing her mighty Aerodactyl.  
"I know nothing," Sarah retorted. It was only until after she said it that she realised how stupid she sounded, so she quickly released her next pokemon to get on with the battle.

Arcane stood proud tall and proud as he stared at the Aerodactyl with a smirk on his face, when he heard Sarah say his name. He padded softly over to her and she wrapped her hand around his mane and spoke softly in his ear.

"It's gonna be tough Arcane, but we can do it. You and me Arcane, we can go all the way. Remember?"


	57. What is The Best?

_I knooow I should have updated sooner, but if it helps I stayed up till like 2 last night trying to finish it, and I really should have been doing my coursework!  
Wow, it feels so weird to be finished. Thanks to all of you who reviewed/alerted/faved and read this story to the end. You deserve a super grinny face!  
=D=D  
CYCLOPS GRIN -D  
Btw, I'm super sorry if this isn't a super awesome ending or if it's an anti-climax. I'm not so great at writing endings as I'd like to be :/_

* * *

Chapter 57

"You chose that pathetic mutt? He'll never withstand the force of Boulder. Kick thing off with giga impact!" Hazel cried out, catching Sarah off guard.

The huge Aerodactyl swooped through the air and using all of it's power in an attempt to crush Arcane under it's weight. But Arcane was light on his feet, dodging lithely out of the way and sinking his teeth into Boulder's leathery wings. With a shriek of rage, Boulder twisted around and slammed Arcane away with an iron head attack. The Arcanine threw his head up, tossing his magnificant mane back and let out a ferocious roar before crouching low and snarling menacingly at Boulder, ready to attack.

Boulder opened his huge jaw in retaliation and his voice reverbrated through the room. Arcane took the oppurtunity to charge at Boulder cloaked in fire, with an infernal flare blitz attack. The resulting volcanous eruption blasted Arcane back, hurting him some deal. It was no comparison to the damage that Boulder received however and the Aerodactyl was sent barreling into the already battered wall, causing it to crumble around him as he fell to the floor. Arcane gazed readily at the pile of rubble, ready to attack the moment the Aerodactly showed itself. He didn't get the chance though, as the entire room was bathed in a pale light, before it congregated into a sharp beam that was shot directly at the Arcanine, penetrating the rubble around the Aerodactly and blasting it in all directions. Arcane took the brunt of the attack as well as the flying shrapnel head on, his mane billowing in the force of the blast; the light seemed to emanate from him as he stood, proud and determined to remain standing until the end of the battle. Hazel stood, awed at the sight of the magnificant Arcanine and for a moment she doubted wether she would actually be able to defeat such an awe-inspiring pokemon. A prehistoric roar made her turn to see her giant beast. His purple leathery skin was etched with battle scars from years of winning and training. A sense of pride filled her up as she realised that _her _pokemon has survived through many millions of years. She sneered at the Arcanine, seeing a mop of tangles instead of the luxurious fur that coated it. She then looked upon her pokemon, a titan in her eyes. It stood towering over the Arcanine, a haughty look in it's dark eyes.

"I told you before, your pokemon is going DOWN!" Hazel yelled. The Aerodactyl rose into the air at the sound of his trainer and beared down upon Arcane with an ice fang, his freezing teeth missing Arcane by mere inches. With an agile leap, Arcane was atop of his foe, tearing into Boulder's neck with ferocity. The Aerodactyl started to panic, thrashing about in an attempt to throw Arcane off.

"Boulder calm down! Use rock slide, just like in practice!" Hazel frowned. Boulder obliged and summoned tons of heavy rocks smashing down to the ground; he then folded his wings close to his torso and rocketed upwards towards a particuarly large and jagged rock. Just as he was about to collide, he spun lithely around in the air, skimming his back along the rock until it crashed into Arcane with a sickening crunch. Sarah stared up at her Arcanine suspended in the air for a second, before he plunged to the floor, landing with a thud.

The breath was knocked out of her, she was finding it hard to breath. Ignoring the giant beast of a pokemon looming over her in an offensive stance, she ran out into the arena, arms outstretched to reach her pokemon. Boulder saw. He didn't think the battle was over-he wasn't going to let the human intefere. With a rumbling growl and a swing from his battering ram tail, he threw Sarah clean off the floor and into the concrete seats that stood empty, like a deserted ampitheatre. Pain burst through her body as she fell like a rag doll down each step. There she lay at the bottom, blood seeping out of her mouth. Her entire body groaned in protest as she pushed herself up onto her elbows, wiping the blood with the sleeve of her hoodie. She couldn't bring herself to stand up, instead she lay propped up on her elbows and staring avidly at Arcane.

His orange fur swam in front of her eyes and she felt herself falling forwards. Her face hit the floor, the cold surface felt refreshing. A voice floated into her head, a voice she hadn't heard in months.

_"I'm pretty sure you could crush her,"_

_"One day I will," _

The memory was so real, so tangible tha Sarah felt she was back outside in the sun. She looked up and saw him. His green eyes still full of the amused expression he wore, his mop of blonde hair blowing in the slight breeze as he glared at the speck in the distance that was Hazel and Boulder.

"One day I will..." Sarah whispered. She shook her head and once again she was back in the ampitheatre-like room, staring at Arcane who was still lying unmoving. Not having the strength to stand up, Sarah managed to push herself up into a sitting position, leaning back against the stone seats behind her.

"I'm pretty sure we can crush them Arcane,"

The great golden mane shook as Arcane lifted his head to look at Sarah. His body was aching with pain but the anger he felt towards the Aerodactyl burned like a raging fire through him, giving him the strength he needed to rise up. His eyes flashed with anger as he launched himself across the gound and up, right at Boulder's face, the giant jaws a gaping hole, ready to bite down on Arcane with a crushing force. A satanic fire erupted from Arcane and a bellowing roar rang through the room as he attacked, hellish flames blazed and scorched Boulder. An agonized screech was choked out of Boulders charred throat and he tumbled to the ground with an almighty crash. Arcane pulled himself out of the enclosed jaws and padded over to Sarah, then curled himself around her looking triumphantly over at Hazel.

* * *

Hazel didn't say a word. She didn't need to. Nurse Joy had come rushing in as soon as the match had finished (there was some sort of alarm that alerted her when the battles had finished), and as soon as she saw the state of Sarah she demanded to know the full story. After it was explained, Nurse Joy looked disdainfully at Hazel, outraged at the lack of control she had over her pokemon. Before any more could be said however, Sarah was ushered into a long hall lined with gilded statues of only the very best from Sentas. Sarah didn't recognize anyone on there and she felt a smirk creep onto her face as she realised they hadn't glorified Hazel anymore than needed. What happened then was all a bit of a blur to Sarah; lots of paperwork and congratulations from people she didn't even know. Then she saw Kaleb.  
"You did it!" he yelled, running over and pulling her into a huge bear hug.

"Nope. It was my pokemon," Sarah smiled and looked behind her. Her pokemon were all out and positively beaming at their victory.

"Ha, well I guess that means you'll be becoming the Champion then?" Kaleb asked, looking down at her. The smile faded from her face.

Champion. Champion Sarah.

It just didn't sound right. At all. Then there was the fact that she would have to sit around the Elite Four all day waiting for challenges from trainers. After all that had happened, she realised that she wouldn't want to do that. She wanted to travel. She wanted to face new challenges that didn't just entail battling. She wanted something... Different.

"You know. I don't think I want to," she said absent mindedly.

"What?"

"Well I did what I intended, I became the best. At least in some senses of the word,"  
"But isn't the best being the Champion?"

Sarah pondered this for a moment.

"Depends on your perspective I guess," she shrugged.

"So what's your perspective?" Kaleb asked her,

"I think I am where I need to be, I've done what I needed to do and now all I've got to do is see what else is out there,"

"Not content with staying in Sentas then? Ha, you always did want to do that extra mile. You never stop looking forward do you?" he ruffled her hair and chuckled,

"Guess that leaves you to be the next Champion of Sentas then," Sarah replied, shoving him lightly,

"I guess so," he said, smiling slightly.

"Hey, are my parents here?"

"SARAH!" a voice bounced off the walls and she turned around to see her sister prancing towards her, golden curls bouncing. She was closely followed by Sarah's parents and the next thing she knew, she was pulled into a three way hug.

"Uh.. Hi," Sarah laughed. Then the tears started to trickle down her face. Then she broke down into uncontrollable laughter, tears dampening her face as she did so.

* * *

Less than a month later, Sarah was ready to leave. It was a fine sunny day and the village was bathed in the usual green light as the sun cascaded through the eaves of the trees. Kaleb had since become the Champion of Sentas, Hazel had fallen from her title with disgrace. The story of her most powerful pokemon attacking a trainer had astonished the entire country and she was immediately discharged from being the Champion.

"I'm gonna miss you," Kaleb said, ruffing Sarah's hair as she stood ready to leave.

"Well you could always accompany me. You know what I'm like for almost dying," she laughed.

"I'm pretty sure Arcane won't let that happen,"

Arcane barke in approval.

"This is it then. I'll see you when I get back," Sarah smiled a sad smile and turned to her parents.

"Now do you have everything?"

"Yes mam,"

"Potions?"

"One step ahead: full restores,"

"Don't get smart with your mother young lady," her dad scolded.

"Whatever. I love you guys," Sarah hid her smile and hugged her parents. She then turned and headed for Glistenport, ready to catch a ferry over to Kanto.

* * *

The boat pulled away from the dock, sounding it's horn as it did so. Sarah looked out over Greensand, knowing it would be a long time until she returned. Looking down at the docks, she saw a Lapras. Standing on the pier next to it was an old lady. She bowed her head to Sarah and then smiled. A smile that reached her brown eyes and filled them with warmth.

As the waves steadily pounded the hull of the boat, Sarah waved and then turned to look out at the horizon. Arcane sat by her, his beautiful mane glowing in the warm light. Together they looked out at the sea, ready to face whatever would be thrown at them.


End file.
